The Hand That Feeds
by Andrew Munoz
Summary: When the villagers of Konohagakure no Sato finally push Naruto too far, the young jinchuuriki will run to the loving embrace of the Night Mother. A response to pudgypudge's "Oblivion CHALLENGE."
1. A Kunai in the Sunshine

**Prologue: A Kunai in the Sunshine**

"_Come on, come on! And there'll be no turning back! You were only killing time and it can kill you right back. __Come on, come on! It's time to burn up the fuse. You got nothing to do and even less to lose."_- Jim Steinman

* * *

The floor boards creaked lightly as the robed man walked about his office, inspecting the carefully laid pentagram of candles before him. Wizened eyes scrutinized every minute detail in the hopes of ensuring the ritual would go as smoothly as possible. When he was satisfied, the man knelt down and begin lighting the candles, a faint rustle and a spark of blue chakra the only warning before the obsidian candles sprung to life.

As the room was bathed in an eerie orange glow, the elderly man's gaze made its way to the object occupying the center of the pentagram.

Heart, skull, bone, and flesh.

The four requirements to create the effigy necessary to complete the ritual.

The Black Sacrament.

The old man grimaced as he moved closer to the effigy and withdrew a small dagger and began to gently rub it with the violet petals he kept in his breast pocket.

The villagers called it "nightshade." Anyone could spot the unique flower growing in the woods, but only the most skilled of alchemists could convert the odd petals into poison.

Satisfied with his work, the man returned the remaining petals to his pocket. With a grimace he raised the dagger and plunged it deep into the "body" laying before him. As he continued to brutally stab his creation, he quietly whispered the words he knew to be necessary.

"Sweet Mother, sweet Mother, send your child unto me, for the sins of the unworthy must be baptized in blood and fear."

The man finished by driving the bloodied dagger into the heart of his "victim," leaving it there as he rose and wearily moved to sit in his chair. As his aged brown eyes kept watch over the now smoldering effigy, a chill breeze swept through the room, dousing the candles. The man's eyes widened as the few remaining wreaths of smoke swirled about the darkened room like angered specters raised from the grave, before they coalesced into a thick blanket of swirling gray and a lone figure stepped forward from the unnatural shroud.

"I honestly didn't expect to see you tonight. Surely you have people that handle errands such as this."

The smoke dissipated and revealed a tall figure wearing a black cloak and hood. "Hiruzen-sama, surely you knew that I would see to such a… _sensitive_ matter personally?"

The Hokage sighed as he drew his pipe and lit it, once again filling his office with whorls of smoke. "I see… you always paid great attention to detail, Lucien."

The man smirked even though his cowl hid it from sight. "My dearest Hokage-sama, details–especially the minute ones– are the very essence of my existence! Speculation, inference, word of mouth, these things are such trifles!" The man answered as he sat down in a chair on the opposite end of the Hokage's desk. "I simply make it my business to _know_."

Sarutobi scowled at the hooded man. "Then surely you must realize the purpose of our meeting was not idle chatter?"

"Done with the pleasantries already, Hokage-sama? And here I thought we were friends," Lucien simpered.

"What I do is for the good of the village, my hand has been forced and I've chosen the lesser of two evils; no more, no less, Lucien." Sarutobi replied in a clipped manner.

Lucien's grin disappeared as leaned forward. "Then I'm sure, Hokage-sama, that you know there is only one person capable of doing what you ask. And surely you know what he'll demand from both of us…"

Sarutobi rubbed his temples wearily; he was in no position to bargain. "I am prepared to honor his request."

"Excellent!" Lucien exclaimed before a predatory grin flashed across his features. "But there is still the matter of your payment to the Dark Brotherhood, Hokage-sama…"

Sarutobi cringed. "What do you want, Lucien?"

"As the Speaker for the various sects located in Hi no Kuni, I've prevented my subordinates from taking direct action against many of your shinobi… I've kept them out of your affairs, so to speak. I am aware that you reciprocate this by allowing us sanctuary in your village, but what you are asking is no small favor. What you have in mind will most likely leave me in need of a new Silencer, Sarutobi. As such, 'what I want' is a replacement…"

The Hokage's blood ran cold… he knew who Lucien wanted, and if Lucien wanted someone that meant they held already met… certain criteria. Feeling much older than he actually was, Sarutobi sighed as he sat back in his chair. "Very well, then. I will not oppose your… _involvement _in the boy's life, and I will also see to it that Sasuke is kept safe. When can Itachi act?"

Lucien chuckled heartily. "It will be done before morning, Hokage-sama. The Uchiha were quickly becoming a thorn in my side; far too many of them have been whispering about openly opposing us."

Sarutobi nodded gravely, the Uchiha weren't known for making friends. "And what of Itachi?"

The mysterious man grinned as he stood up. "I'm going to have him keep tabs on another mutual enemy, Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi wore a resigned look on his face as he processed Lucien's answer. "Akatsuki?"

Instead of confirming or denying the man simply bowed his head. "Farewell, Hokage-sama. May the Night Mother keep you in her loving embrace."

With those parting words, Lucien promptly faded into the blackness, leaving Sarutobi with nothing but the weight of his decisions.

* * *

It had started out as such a great day– the best, in fact. He had been passing time at the park as he waited for the sun to finally dip below the horizon so he could go home and make his evening meal; a prospect that had excited him to no end.

He was making ramen that night, after all.

So when the great big ball that brought him morning finally touched the stretch of ground that was farther away than his young mind could comprehend, bathing the purpling sky above in an ethereal orange glow, he had decided to begin the long trek home.

It was then that he had seen _it_.

Partially submerged in the dusty grains of sand filling the sandbox, the glinting edge of a discarded kunai called to him as it reflected the fiery hues emanating from the day's dying sun. His light blue eyes– filled with awe and wonderment– darted back and forth, searching for any potential threat.

A few years of having enraged villagers chase and beat him had given him a healthy sense of paranoia.

Convinced that no one was going to appear and flog him, he bent down and snatched the abandoned blade from its sandy confines and held it up for a closer inspection. Adequate lighting revealed the kunai to be in… acceptable condition. The bands of cloth wrapped around the hilt had unraveled and fallen away, leaving the metal shaft bare and rusty. The actual blade itself had lost most of its natural luster, but when he held it _just right_ it refracted the sun's light and shone in way that let him catch metallic glimpses of himself reflecting off the kunai's monochromatic surface.

He had giggled like a child possessed as he flung the blade around, slashing at invisible enemies only he could see. It was the most spectacular feeling he'd ever experienced, the rush of fending off vicious attackers from lands far away, and imagining himself a brave hero sent to stop the reign of tyranny and injustice plaguing his homelands.

He soon found himself swept away in his imagination, that beautiful thing all children possess that they can escape to when reality becomes too much. In his mind he could find love and acceptance when he rescued the Daimyo's captured daughter from villainous mercenaries. He was never alone when he charged into battle with his oldest friends and comrades as they prepared to fight the final battle that would see an end to 'The War' and finally bring peace to the Elemental Countries.

But the thing about imagination is that it is rooted in reality. No matter how much the boy willed it, he wasn't really _there_, and he wasn't really _him_. He was Naruto Uzumaki, and he was an orphan playing by himself in the park because he didn't have any friends.

But surely that would change when he started his lessons at the academy next week; Ojii-san had said so.

Naruto returned his attention to the dull blade currently grasped in his right hand. As he was vanquishing his enemies, a rather intriguing fact had wriggled its way into his mind: this was a _ninja_ tool! Somewhere out in the world, a shinobi had used this kunai in battle! How many opponents had the simple blade slain for its previous master? Perhaps this blade was the one that saved its master's life!

So it was with visions of grandeur and heroism that Naruto Uzumaki had made his way home with, greatly excited by being the only student in his class who would possess an _actual_ ninja tool! The young blonde was in such high spirits that he for once found himself oblivious to the cruel and hate-filled stares of the villagers.

What did it matter? What were the worries of day to day life to a little boy who had suddenly found himself on cloud nine? They mattered not, apparently. The boy had quickly come to the conclusion that everything was going to get better; as Naruto turned into the back alley he used to discreetly enter his apartment complex, he couldn't help but smile as he tucked his newfound possession into the baggy sleeve of his shirt.

Naruto quickly made his way over to the alley's back wall and pulled the latch that released the ladder he used to scale the building's fire escape. A few years of running from angry mobs had quickly taught the boy that multiple escape routes were necessary for survival.

As his small hand reached for the first rung on the ladder, a rock impacted the side of his skull with a terrible "crack." Naruto fell over sideways, clutching his head as shockwaves of pure agony radiated from the now freely bleeding wound located just above his right temple.

Naruto quickly attempted to crawl away– to at least find some form of shelter from his attacker. The blonde set his eyes on a large dumpster near the fire escape and hurriedly began making his way towards it, ignoring the horrible stinging in his knees as they were dragged across the alley's abrasive surface.

Naruto looked back and saw that his assailant was quickly advancing on him; the man's pace made it clear that Naruto was not going to find shelter soon enough. Praying that whoever this man was he possessed even a shred of mercy, Naruto attempted to appeal to him.

The villager watched as the demon turned to him with tears in his eyes.

"P-Please! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'll make it up to you– whatever I did I-I'll… I'll fix–"

The blonde's pleas died abruptly when the man grabbed Naruto and violently slammed him against the alley, pinning the young boy to the wall by his neck.

"Look at me."

Naruto continued to struggle even as breathing became harder and harder, until the man shook him again and tightened his grip on Naruto's neck.

"LOOK AT ME!"

The man gained a small amount of satisfaction as a pair of wide, blue eyes met his own. "You took from me, everything that I had, demon. YOU STOLE MY LIFE! On that night, you murdered my son and wife, you snuffed out their lives like they were mere insects…"

The blonde's eyes bulged as his would-be murderer began to strangle him with both hands.

"And now, demon, I'm going to watch the light fade from your eyes, I'm going to watch their luster flicker and die as I send you to the Hell you so rightfully deserve…"

Naruto could feel his heart thundering inside his chest, threatening to burst from all the fear and stress. His throat ached and burned from the pressure being exerted on him. The boy continued to weep as breathing became harder and harder, and a creeping sense of finality washed over him.

Death.

The cruel specter had finally come for him.

And it had started as such a good day, too.

Naruto's arms finally began to tire and slacken as the oxygen deprivation became too much.

Then he felt it.

With strength he didn't know he possessed, Naruto gripped the cold steel in his wrist and drove it forward; sinking it deep into the man's ribcage. The man's grip slackened as he stumbled backwards and fell over, Naruto on top of him.

With a feral roar, the little blonde plunged his bloodied weapon into his attacker over and over again. Each successive stab produced a number of wet and cracking sounds as the kunai ruptured blood vessels and shattered the bones protecting the assailant's vital organs.

But the man's eyes, they never changed. From the first stab, they never moved from staring into nothingness. Even as the man gurgled and drowned in his own blood, even as his body spasmed from the pain and shock, and even as Naruto plunged his kunai into the man's neck, burying it to the hilt, those glassy, brown eyes never moved as they tried to comprehend what was happening.

Even as the brain shut down, firing a few last-second transmissions throughout the nervous system, those eyes would know nothing. All they would have was the final image burned into the now dead man's retinas.

A hellish vision of glowing, crimson eyes with slitted pupils staring into his own as his own life faded away.

* * *

It wouldn't come off.

No matter how long he sat under the shower head, the blood wouldn't wash out from his clothes. As he had run home crying, he could _feel_ it. It was in his hair, it covered his hands, it dried under his fingernails, and it soaked through his clothes.

He had scrubbed for hours, crying as the blood stained his shower water a grotesque pink, in his attempt to wash it _all_ away, the memory, the man, the eyes… but most of all, he wanted to get rid of the _feeling_.

The boy shuddered violently and quickly stripped off his clothes and kicked them into the far corner of the shower. The feeling was a mild improvement; it had become painfully obvious that his clothes would have to be thrown away. In reality, buying new clothes was the very least of Naruto's problems.

He had _killed_ someone!

Was he going to jail? Surely he was; Ojii-san wouldn't be able to help him this time.

Naruto never ceased crying as he dried himself and crawled into bed, one thought playing over and over in his addled mind.

"_Will Ojii-san visit me in jail?"_

* * *

Naruto woke up shivering. A bitter chill had entered his drafty apartment and disturbed him from his sleep, the ratty comforter he used to keep warm incapable of retaining a sufficient amount of heat to keep him comfortable. The bleary-eyed boy sat up and looked around his dark apartment, and his eyes locked onto the blue drapes he hung over his window for privacy. Said drapes were currently billowing quietly as a cold breeze blew into his bedroom.

Immediately Naruto was on edge. He never left his window open.

Naruto crawled to the edge of his bed and flicked on his lamp. As the light crackled to life, the young blonde jumped back in horror as the fluorescent light revealed a black-robed man sitting at the edge of his bed.

"You sleep rather sound for a murderer, child."

The blonde's blood ran cold. Somehow this man knew what he did.

"I-I… I don't know what you're talking about!" Naruto squeaked as he scooted back to the far edge of his bed.

"Oh?" The man replied as he reached into his sleeve, "Then I don't suppose you would recognize this, would you, child?"

Naruto flinched as the man withdrew an old kunai from his sleeve; the glinting metal dulled by the crusted blood stuck to its edge.

"Who are you and what do you want!?"

The man chuckled as he lowered his hood, revealing light-brown eyes, slightly tanned skin, and a thatch of short, black hair. "Where are my manners? My name is Lucien Lachance, child. Might I ask yours?"

"N-Naruto Uzumaki…"

Lucien smiled as he continued to scrutinize Naruto's discarded kunai. "Tell me, child, why is it that you abandoned this weapon? Why did you leave it to rust in that dank alley? A memento such as this is to be treasured!"

The boy looked down in shame, tears welling up in his eyes. "I d-didn't wanna get caught… I thought if I hid the kunai, everyone would think someone else d-did it…" Naruto broke down as sobs wracked his small frame, his own admission of guilt finally getting to him.

Lucien smiled as he picked up the crying boy and sat him down in his lap. "It's okay, Naruto-kun. That man was going to hurt you, what you did was only natural."

The crying boy looked up as he desperately clung to Lachance's robes. "N-Natural…?"

"But of course," Lucien drawled, "We have been watching you for quite some time, Naruto-kun. Our _family_ makes it a priority to keep an eye on promising individuals such as yourself…"

"Your family's been watching me?"

"Ah, I'm afraid I've forgotten to mention some details pertinent to our discussion… one's memory tends to fade as age seeps in, Naruto-kun," Lucien joked, earning a rather wet giggle from Naruto, "I am a Speaker of the Dark Brotherhood, a rather… _unique_ family that performs certain services for those who know how to contact us."

"Like shinobi?"

"Shinobi are a lie, Naruto-kun. They live in the dark and deal in lies, riddles, and death, forever bound to the village they serve. The Dark Brotherhood is bound only to the Night Mother and the Lord Sithis… and we, dear child, are the ones who tell lies to the liars."

"Who's the Night Mother?" Naruto asked as he wiped away a few stray tears.

"She is the one that guides our family, and She has seen how the village has treated you, Naruto-kun. Every blow that you've been struck with, She has felt. Every cruel word yelled at you has echoed in her ears. And every tear you've shed, She has wept in sorrow with you.

"That is why She sent me tonight, Naruto-kun. I am here to offer you a place in our family. Join us and I can promise that you will never be alone again, no more will you have to fear the villagers' wrath, and no more will you go wanting in this life."

It almost seemed too good to be true; to the boy who had been denied everything in his life, the promise of a loving family was all he could ever want.

But a specific thought stopped him in his tracks.

"B-But I k-killed someone!"

"That you did, Naruto-kun, that you did. But you must understand that we are different from the common ilk found in this village; the Dark Brotherhood won't fault you for such trifles. If anything, we would _encourage _it. All that we ask of you is your loyalty, pledge your loyalty to the Dark Brotherhood, the Night Mother, and the Dark Lord Sithis, and we shall never abandon you. Join our family, and we will train you to be an instrument of the Unholy Matron.

Lucien smiled as he looked down at Naruto. "Join us, Naruto-kun, and we can give you all that you'd ever want or need."

Naruto nodded in acceptance, despite the guilty feeling gnawing at the back of his skull.

"Something still troubles you, Naruto-kun. Your face easily betrays your emotions."

The young blonde buried his face into Lucien's chest. "When I… _did it_… I… I felt– _it_ felt…" The final word came out as barely a whisper, "…_good_."

"_Children these days, so eager to make friends…"_ "Poor, poor, child. This village and its foolish ways have corrupted your thinking. They would scorn you for taking pleasure from the kill, but the Brotherhood? We will encourage _it_. Do not fight the feelings of joy and pleasure at watching your enemies die and listening to the breath fade from their lungs… _embrace them_! Use those feelings to strengthen the resolve in your heart, and never forget that whatever you do, you do it in the name of the Night Mother!"

Naruto sniffed and nodded, his fears somewhat assuaged.

"For the Night Mother?"

Lucien smiled. Things were always so much fun when all the pieces _willingly_ moved into place.

"That's right, Naruto-kun. For the Night Mother," Lachance answered as the shadows whisked him and his young charge away.

* * *

**A/N:** Firstly, you can think pudgypudge for issuing the "Oblivion CHALLENGE." Without him this story wouldn't be here. Now, it's important to remember that this story is an AU, so some things will be different this time around; The Brotherhood's involvement in the Uchiha Massacre is a good example. Next, is the concept of "family." Naruto has always longed for a family to call his own, and in a lot of stories author's change things around and give him one. This usually results in "Happy!Naruto" where the young Uzumaki becomes a clan leader and masters techniques at an alarming pace. I don't have anything against such stories, but I've always liked the idea of giving Naruto a family, and having him turn out far worse than would have had he been left alone. Anyhow, for pairings, I'm probably going to go with Naruto/Haku/Hinata; the three of them seem to be the best bet for advancing that particular aspect of the story in the best way possible. I hope you enjoyed the prologue, and I hope you'll chime in with your comments and/or suggestions.

**-Andrew**

**P.S. **I still plan on updating my other story as well. I plan on finishing both of my Naruto stories, so I won't abandon them.


	2. Natural Born Killers

**Chapter I: Natural Born Killers**

"_There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in."_- Deepak Chopra

* * *

Naruto's hand trembled as he accepted the rusty kunai Lachance offered to him. After leaving his apartment, Lucien had taken Naruto to the Brotherhood's underground sanctuary to begin his initiation into the Konoha family. The Speaker had explained such things as the Five Tenets, how to safely and discreetly enter the hidden sanctuary, and day to day business of Dark Brotherhood members.

Naruto had listened as best he could, afraid that if he forgot any of these things that his new family would be quick to scold him. Naturally, Lucien had assured him that he would be given the proper time to learn all of the new information. The Black Hand member had also explained that Naruto would still be attending the Academy because his education, and subsequent tutelage under a jonin sensei, would prove to be invaluable tools as he rose up the Brotherhood's ranks.

And so Naruto now stood, his six year-old frame somehow managing to tower over the kneeling and bound man before him.

"It has been discovered that Tarou here, has betrayed the Night Mother by feeding information on her children's whereabouts to members of the Cult of Jashin," Lucien said as he began to circle around Naruto, "Tarou has committed the ultimate sin, the penalty for which, is death.

Lucien stopped and looked down at Naruto. "Naruto Uzumaki, the Night Mother is pleased with your earlier actions and has seen fit to invite you to join our family. All that is required… is for you to seal it in _blood_."

Naruto shivered slightly as a few of the candles lighting the room flickered, throwing Tarou's tear-stained face into relief.

The blonde was somewhat shocked at how _terrified_ Tarou looked. His wide, green eyes darted back and forth between Lucien, Naruto, and the kunai, sweat collected and rolled of his brow, his chest heaved erratically with shallow breaths, and trails of tears descended down his cheeks, leaving a few damp stains on his shirt.

"Do it, Naruto." Lucien said firmly.

The boy gulped and took a few steps forward, his hand tightening around the kunai's hilt.

"P-Please… don't k-kill m-me…"

Naruto stopped as the mean looked up at him with pleading eyes, eyes that the young boy now found himself completely enraptured with. They way they widened, revealing a disproportionate amount of sclera, the tears continually pooling in the corner of his eye, only to wind up overflowing as they tumbled down his cheek… but behind them… Behind the man's eyes, Naruto could see _it_.

Fear.

This man was afraid, most likely more afraid than he'd ever been in his life. Tarou was being confronted with the fact that he was no longer going to be counted among the living, and the fear of that fact had gripped him by his very core.

Lucien took note of Naruto's continued hesitance. "Naruto, Tarou has betrayed the family; he has _hurt_ us. Always remember that to wound a Dark Brother or Sister is to wound the family, and to wound the family is to be wounded yourself."

Tarou whimpered as the boy's eyes hardened like chips of frozen ice. "Please… j-just let me g-go… I have a f-family…"

Naruto's eyes narrowed. This man had tried to harm his new family… after six years of being alone, six years of beatings and assassination attempts… this stranger had tried to take it all away. Tarou would just as soon see it vanish.

So it was that Naruto Uzumaki, at the tender age of six, had what he would later describe as his "epiphany."

"_Loyalty to the family."_

The young blonde was bearing witness to a fitting example of the end result of betrayal; it left someone as no more than an honorless wretch, crying and begging for mercy from the very people you'd stabbed in the back.

Naruto cracked a grin that was out of place on a child so young and plunged his kunai into Tarou's throat, dragging it clean across.

He watched in morbid fascination as the small blade slid across the tender flesh of his victim's neck, cutting through bone and vocal cords in the process, reducing Tarou to a gurgling, twitching mass incapable of speech.

The jinchuuriki continued to hold the spasming man's head in his hand, watching as his eyes bulged wider and wider as more of the oxygen rich blood poured out of his neck like a crimson fountain.

Lucien looked on in fascination as his newest "brother" reveled in the sight of Tarou's dying body. Never had he seen one so young with so much promise! Given the right tutelage, Lucien saw in Naruto the potential to become the greatest of all the Night Mother's children; some day the boy would be the Listener.

Lachance patted the young boy's head before speaking. "Well done, Naruto-kun! Always remember to find great joy in the kill, for each life we take is a gift to the Night Mother!"

Naruto smiled and nodded his head the praise. "Hai, Lucien-sama!"

Said assassin chuckled at the boy's politeness. "I believe it is time to introduce you to your new tutors, Naruto-kun." Lucien said as he began to lead Naruto out of the room containing Tarou's body.

The pair walked down a long candle-lit hallway that branched off in several directions, eventually finding themselves in a modestly furnished sitting room, along with two individuals Naruto had never seen before.

The first was a somewhat pale young man, dressed in the standard Konoha jonin uniform with a katana strapped to his back. He gave a sickly cough and bowed to Lucien.

Naruto was far more interested in the man's companion, however. He had deep, calculating brown eyes that seemed to drink in every little nuance of Naruto's appearance. His weathered face spoke of numerous harsh battles fought throughout his career; and his well-trimmed goatee gave him a commanding aura of unspoken wisdom. He wore a simple black yukata that was held together with a red obi, the only notable feature being a stitched pattern of lilies trailing diagonally from just above his right foot to his left sleeve.

Normal enough attire, to be certain. But what Naruto was truly curious of was the massive scroll lying next to his feet. From what the jinchuuriki could make out, the scroll was bound with a thick leather strap that seemed to double as harness to attach the scroll to its carrier. The young blonde spied numerous paintings of nature scenes, most involving towering trees, rustling autumn leaves dyed orange, yellow, and brown, and babbling brooks that gently cascaded down rocks, forming gentle waterfalls.

The man saw Naruto scrutinizing his scroll and grinned at the boy's interest.

"You will be tutored by various brothers and sisters in the years to come, Naruto-kun," Lucien began, "But I have personally arranged for the two men before you to have a hand in your education. The knowledge they shall impart upon you will be invaluable as you grow older, child. Take their lessons to heart, and use the power you will gain in service of Sithis."

Naruto nodded and looked to the younger shinobi, bowing in greeting.

The younger man bowed back and stifled another cough. "Hello, Naruto-kun. My name is Hayate Gekko, and I'll be training you in the art of Sairento Kiringu."

The blonde grinned and bowed once more before turning to his other sensei.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Naruto-sama. I am Hamaki Mimura."

The boy chose not to question the man's reverent title for him. "What will you be teaching me, Hamaki-sensei?"

Hamaki smiled widely as he bent down to release the leather strap and unfurl his scroll. "Tell me, Naruto-sama, do you like animals?"

* * *

"He can't seem to deactivate it, Hokage-sama…"

Sarutobi's eyes widened slightly. "How did he activate it in the first place, he is barely seven years old!?"

The med-nin sighed as he entered what was commonly known as "lecture mode." "We've known for awhile that the Sharingan manifests itself when an Uchiha suffers _severe_ amounts of physical and emotional stress; this can range from a life and death situation, to simply losing a close friend of family member.

"Needless to say, last night's events seem to fall under both categories."

The Hokage snorted at the man's lack of tact. "Then why can't Sasuke-san deactivate it? I've always been led to believe that once Uchiha awoke their Sharingan, they were free to use it at their discretion."

"That is true, Hokage-sama. However, it appears that Itachi Uchiha did something to Sasuke-san's eyes. We believe he used some unknown dojutsu on Sasuke-san shortly after his own Sharingan was awoken. We think that, coupled with Sasuke-san's high levels of stress, is responsible for his current condition.

"The theory is that Itachi must have attempted to use a very powerful genjutsu on Sasuke-san. This in turn seems to have tricked Sasuke's brain into thinking he was beginning to die. Naturally the body went into shock as a result, inadvertently locking his Sharingan in a state of activation."

Sarutobi nodded gravely. "Will he survive the constant chakra drain?"

"We believe so. It is imperative that Sasuke-san's chakra reservoirs be increased as much as possible to prevent total chakra exhaustion. Luckily, as his body grows more accustomed to the Sharingan, the stress it will put on his reserves will decrease. In essence, the boy will need to be extensively trained in chakra control if he intends to continue his shinobi career.

"What we are more concerned with, Hokage-sama, is his mental state."

"That is understandable; Sasuke has been through a tragic ordeal. In one night his entire clan was murdered, by his brother no less. I would be most surprised if you weren't concerned for his mental well-being."

The med-nin shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I'm afraid you misunderstand, Hokage-sama. The problem I speak of stems from the Sharingan's abilities to predict movements," he began as Sarutobi leaned in closer, "When an object moves, the Sharingan is able to predict where it is going to be, Hokage-sama. When this happens, an Uchiha will see the afterimage of everything that is in motion. In battle this is usually considered the most helpful of the Sharingan's abilities, but the mental strain it will put on him will be great."

The Hokage withdrew his pipe and, after filling it with a pinch of tobacco, lit it and exhaled the pungent smoke. "What kind of mental strain, Doctor?"

"Hokage-sama, there is a reason the Uchiha did not keep their Sharingan activated all the time. We reviewed the Uchiha clan's medical files and we found several documented cases very similar to Sasuke-san's. They have a name for it, sir."

Hiruzen quirked an eyebrow. "A name?"

"They call it 'Sharingan Madness.'"

* * *

Naruto sat on the playground swing with a smile. His first day at the Academy was going rather well by his standards. His new teachers, Iruka-sensei and Mizuki-sensei, were pretty nice. The two chunin had begun class by explaining the Academy's main goal of turning the children into competent shinobi who could successfully serve the village.

The pair had then gone on to explain that all shinobi, from Kage to genin, dealt with death on a regular basis; eventually they would kill for the village, and they very well might die for the village. _"That is the reality for a shinobi,"_ Iruka had said.

"_We are death."_

Naruto had remembered Lucien's words and smiled, the Speaker had told Naruto that the Village's and the Brotherhood's teachings would sometimes conflict with each other, but one thing would always remain certain.

"_You are a child of the Night Mother and a disciple of Sithis; for you, death is nothing but the tool you use in their name."_

The blonde boy was broken from his thoughts by the rustle of grass followed by a long sigh of contentment. Naruto hopped of the swing and made his way to the other side of the tree it was hanging from and found one of his classmates sprawled out on the ground quietly watching the clouds roll by. Naruto looked around in confusion, he saw some of his classmates quietly eating lunch on the grass while they idly chatted amongst themselves, while the rest of the students were running around and playing on the school's playground equipment. Naruto watched as a few boys raced each other on the monkey bars, several girls squealed in delight as their merry-go-round spun faster and faster, he even watched as several boys piled on one side of a seesaw in a vain attempt to lift a rather rotund boy munching on a bag of chips.

But this boy was different. He seemed perfectly happy with prospect of laying down until Iruka-sensei returned to collect them all for the second half of class.

"What are you doing?"

The strange boy turned his head slightly to regard Naruto. "Watching the clouds."

"Why?"

"Why not?"

Naruto scowled in frustration. "Because there are better things to do, like playing or eating lunch!"

"Says the kid who's watching someone watch clouds…"

"…" Naruto didn't have a comeback for that.

"You shouldn't judge things until you give them a chance," the prone boy remarked, "why don't you give it a chance, you might enjoy it."

Finding no glaring fault in the boy's logic, Naruto plopped down next to him and turned his gaze skyward.

"So what do I do?"

"Nothing, really. You just watch the clouds go by..."

The jinchuuriki zeroed in on a particularly fluffy cumulus. "So why do you watch clouds? Almost everyone else is at least doing _something_… playing, eating, talking, even _studying_. I think you're just lazy… "

"That's what my mom says– troublesome woman– but I honestly don't understand why anyone would rather be stuck doing any of those things when they could be watching clouds."

"What's so great about clouds?"

"Just look at them, what do you see?"

Naruto bit his lip in concentration, looking for the boy's hidden meaning. After a minute or so, he gave up and sighed dejectedly. "I don't see anything; they're just floating along…"

"Exactly. That's all clouds do, they float on by and go wherever the breeze takes them. They're not worried about chores, becoming a ninja, school, or homework. They just go on without a care in the world."

For a minute Naruto was silent, but as the meaning behind the boy's words sunk in, he couldn't help but grin.

Clouds were free.

Naruto continued to watch the clouds float by, periodically taking note of their various shapes and sizes, enjoying a comfortable silence with his classmate. Not long after, the two boys heard the voices of Mizuki and Iruka informing all the students that their break was over.

Sighing both boys slowly stood and brushed themselves off. The boy took a look at Naruto, scrutinizing his appearance without the distraction of clouds. The blonde wore a simple black shinobi shirt that extended past his neck to cover the lower half of his face, and a pair of white shorts.

"I'm Shikamaru Nara." He said, extending his hand.

The Kyuubi container extended his own hand and shook. "Naruto Uzumaki."

* * *

**Six Years Later…**

Sakura sighed as she examined herself in the mirror. She wore her usual white top that exposed her midriff– her mother _hated_ it– along with a pair of red capri pants held up by a simple white belt. The young Haruno then proceeded to strap her kunai holster onto her leg before heading downstairs for breakfast.

As she padded down the stairs, the smell of her mother's cooking wafted up and permeated the air. Ever since she was a child, Sakura had been enthralled with the concept of "cooking." When her mother was in the kitchen, _she_ was in charge, and _she_ knew what was right. Salt, pepper, and spices were measured in pinches and shakes, not teaspoons. Recipes were stored in her head and put into practical use– her mother didn't _do_ cook books. And when her mother called for the family to convene for dinner, you came right then and there. The family ate _together_– or you didn't eat at all. But what truly amazed Sakura was how _happy_ cooking made her mother. Whenever Airi Haruno was in the kitchen, she wore a smile and often hummed a happy tune. But it was nothing compared to the radiant smile that blossomed when she watched her family sit down and enjoy the food she had put her heart and soul into.

One day an ignorant Sakura had asked her why cooking was so fun, why did it make her so happy?

"_Because I did it for the people I love,"_ had been Airi's simple reply.

Sakura smiled at the memory as she sat down at the family's breakfast table. "Good morning, Mama."

"Good morning, sweetheart," she replied with an exasperated sigh. "I see you still haven't gotten rid of that outfit…"

The young girl only grinned as she picked up a bit of egg with her chopsticks.

Airi shook her head as she sipped her morning coffee. "So today's the big day, Sakura. The day my little blossom becomes an adult. Are you nervous?"

"Not really," Sakura replied with a shrug, "the genin exam is pretty easy; I can easily perform bunshin, kawarimi, and henge… and a lot more thanks to Anko-neechan."

Sakura's mother scowled at her daughter's mention of the eccentric jonin. While meeting Anko had done much for Sakura's self esteem and ninja skills, it had also resulted in her daughter's unladylike fashion sense and behavior. "Yes, well try to make sure you don't pick up too much from Anko-san. If I catch you in fishnet again, adult or not, I'll still ground you for a month."

Sakura giggled at her mother's prudishness. "It'll be okay, Mom, I promise."

Airi attempted to level a stern gaze at her daughter but ruined by smiling softly and reaching for her hand. "Your father would be so proud of you right now, Sakura. You're growing into a strong, beautiful, and intelligent young woman…"

The teen swallowed and nodded. "I know Mama. I just… I wish he could see me when I put on my hitai-ite…" Sakura mumbled as she failed to stop a tear from escaping. "But I promise you this, Mom, one day I'll find out what happened that night. I won't rest until we know who took him away from us."

The older woman took note of the determination in her daughter's voice. While the death of her husband had been a tragic event that had torn their small family apart, it had also changed her daughter. She had become a woman who took the occupation of kunoichi seriously, she studied well into the night, trained for hours on end, and practiced ninjutsu under the instruction of one of the village's most talented kunoichi.

"_Maybe Anko isn't so bad after all…"_ "I know, sweetie. But I want you to promise me you won't let this dictate your entire life. Find closure, find justice, but don't forget to live _your_ life, Sakura. Be happy, fall in love, have children– _after_ you're married– and grow old. Do what you must, but don't let it prevent you from doing what you want. _That_ is what your father would have wanted. Be happy, Sakura, and I know that your father, wherever he is, will be happy too." Airi said as she stood and pulled her only daughter into a loving embrace.

After a few seconds the two women separated and Sakura bade her mother farewell. The pink haired kunoichi to be quickly made her way to the front door, stopping briefly to strap on a pair of shinobi sandals, exited her house, and took to the rooftops.

In a matter of minutes, Sakura found herself entering her classroom for the final portion of the Graduation Exam: ninjutsu. Two days prior, the exam had begun with taijutsu. Each student was required to fight one-on-one with Iruka-sensei while Mizuki-sensei observed and awarded them points accordingly. Sasuke Uchiha had narrowly outscored Naruto, giving the young Uchiha prodigy a narrow lead in the race for Rookie of the Year. And Sakura herself had been outscored by Hinata Hyuga. While her taijutsu was somewhat advanced for an academy student, it was nothing when compared to the Hyuga's Juuken.

The next day had covered genjutsu. Mizuki-sensei had put them all under a genjutsu that made their fears appear as reality and then tasked them with releasing it. Several students had trouble breaking it, but most seemed to manage. Sakura herself had managed to dispel the image of her dead mother rather quickly with a simple "Kai"; Sasuke had merely used his "Magen: Kyou Tenchi-ten" and it was Mizuki-sensei that had found himself trapped in an illusion.

Ironically, it was Naruto who had dispelled the genjutsu the fastest. As soon as Mizuki's hand seals were done the blonde pulled out a kunai and drove it deep into his thigh. The two chunin instructors had deliberated for a full ten minutes before deciding to award Naruto and Sasuke full marks for superior skill, and in Naruto's case, efficiency.

Sakura snorted as she took her seat next to Sasuke. As usual, the Uchiha had his eyes closed as he contemplated whatever it was that he thought of when he was bored.

"Good morning, Sasuke-kun." She chirped as she settled into a more comfortable position.

"Sakura," he acknowledged without opening his eyes.

The girl snorted at his response. "My, my, Sasuke-kun. So talkative today, is it a special occasion?"

A single, three-tomoed crimson eye opened to regard her. "Hn."

The pinkette sighed and turned to listen as Iruka and Mizuki began to explain the requirements for the ninjutsu portion of the exam. They would all be required to perform the three academy jutsu, but, if they chose to, they could perform another jutsu of their choosing for extra credit.

"First up, Sasuke Uchiha!" Iruka called.

Said student slowly stood and proceeded to amble up to the front of the class.

"Please perform a successful henge, then kawarimi using the chair next to Mizuki, followed by the creation of a bunshin."

The Uchiha sighed and did as told.

"Well done, Sasuke. Full marks." Mizuki called as the teen proceeded to return to his seat, closing his eyes until the mentioning of a particular name drew his attention once more.

"Naruto Uzumaki, you're next."

Naruto stood, sporting a grin that could clearly be seen through his face mask. The blonde now sported a simple dark-blue jumpsuit that he wore unzipped with a black shinobi shirt underneath.

"_I owe Hayate-sensei big time for teaching me a way around this… that and for teaching me the Crescent Moon Dance in the first place…"_

"You know what to do, Naruto. Whenever you're ready," Iruka instructed.

Naruto nodded and flew through the necessary seals, and in a poof of smoke, he was replaced with pink kimono-wearing Sasuke. "Just call me Sasuke-chan!" Naruto exclaimed as he slapped a goofy grin on Sasuke's normally stoic face.

Several girls in the class directed a large amount of killing intent toward the henge'd blonde and he quickly dispelled the jutsu.

"How'd you like that, teme?"

The Uchiha pointed to his shirt. "Red, dobe. We call this color 'red.' Can you say 'red?'"

"Fuck you!" Naruto shouted as the class broke out in a chorus of laughter.

"NARUTO!" Iruka shouted, silencing the class, "Get on with it!"

The blonde started and quickly replaced himself with the indicated chair.

"Good. Now create a bunshin."

"You got it, Iruka-sensei! Take notes, Sasuke-teme, 'cuz this is how it's done!" Naruto put his hands in an unusual cross-shaped seal, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

A second Naruto poofed into existence and threw up the victory sign.

"N-Naruto," Iruka stammered, "how did you learn that jutsu?"

"Well," the blonde began as he scratched the back of his head, "I've always had trouble making regular clones, so I decided to find a way around that particular obstacle," he answered, deciding to keep Hayate's involvement to himself.

The scared chunin smiled at his favorite student. _"You never have done things the conventional way, Naruto."_ "Well done, Naruto, you may be seated."

"How'd you like that, Sasuke-teme?" Naruto boasted.

The raven-haired boy sighed in exasperation. "You understand that you basically just _taught_ me the Kage Bunshin technique, right?"

"Huh?"

Sasuke pointed to his eyes. "Sharingan, idiot."

Naruto watched the three tomoe rotate slowly before comprehension dawned on him. "Aw, shit."

Sakura giggled as Naruto's shoulders slumped and he made his way to the back of the class to take his seat between Shikamaru and Hinata, the later immediately tasking herself with cheering up the dejected blonde.

When everyone had finished the ninjutsu test, Mizuki made his way to the front of the class. "Alright, are there any students who wish to demonstrate any advanced jutsu?" Several hands shot up and the chunin looked to Iruka and nodded, "Alright then, let's all head out to the training ground."

The entire class stood and followed their instructors out of the building.

"So Shikamaru, you gonna try and nab some extra credit?"

The Nara scoffed. "No."

"But you could perform one of your family's jutsu!"

"Meh, it'd be too troublesome, Naruto. And it wouldn't really change anything; I know I won't be rookie of the year." Shikamaru shrugged.

"So fuckin' lazy… I swear one day you're going to wake up realize that you've spent your entire life doing nothing but napping and watching clouds!"

Shikamaru stared off into space and his eyes glazed over before he started and resumed walking with his friends. "Don't get my hopes up, Naruto."

Naruto shook his head and turned to his other friend. "How 'bout you, Hinata-chan?"

"Um… I don't really k-know any other jutsu, Naruto-kun…"

The blonde quirked an eyebrow. "Really? I'm sure you've got some sort of secret Hyuga jutsu up your sleeve," Naruto said with a conspiratorial wink as he nudged the girl with his elbow.

The Hyuga heiress held up her hand to hide her blush as she giggled softly. "I'm afraid not, Naruto-kun. I've focused mostly on taijutsu."

The three teens continued their idle chatter until they found themselves standing outside with the rest of their classmates.

"Now, do we have anyone who'd like to volunteer first?" Iruka asked.

"I'll go, Iruka-sensei!" A beautiful blonde girl shouted. "But I'll need two volunteers to assist me."

Iruka nodded. "Alright, Ino."

The blonde kunoichi flashed him a dazzling smile before she turned to her classmates and shouted, "Shikamaru! Get over here now!"

The lazy Nara slouched over and took up his place behind Ino. "Troublesome…"

"Just don't drop me again, you dolt!" Ino snapped before she turned to her rival. "Sakura-chan," she trilled in a far too happy voice, "would you mind assisting me?"

The pinkette stepped forward with a smile. "Only if you'll do me the honor of helping out with my jutsu," she answered as she stood in front of Ino.

The blonde grinned as she raised her hands. "Shintenshin no Jutsu!"

Everyone watched as Shikamaru caught Ino's limp form and Sakura jerked from the force of an invisible force.

"How does she avoid permanent neck damage from lugging this massive forehead around!?" Sakura exclaimed to the shock of the class.

"Ino, a little maturity please…" Iruka chided.

"Sorry, Iruka-sensei… Kai!" Sakura fell to the ground as Shikamaru helped Ino to her feet.

"How was that, Iruka-sensei?"

"Well done, Ino. But will Sakura be okay?"

"I'm fine, Sensei," Sakura muttered as she slowly rose to her feet and dusted herself off. "Would you mind if I went next?"

"Be my guest, Sakura. Ino, pleas assist her as she did you."

"Whadya got for me, forehead girl?" Ino quipped as she crossed her arms under her chest.

Iruka paled as he recognized the grin on Sakura's face… only one other person in the village smiled like that…

"A little something a friend of mine taught me… Sen'eijashu!"

Ino screamed as a pair of snakes shot out from Sakura's wrists and coiled themselves around her body hissing and flicking their tongues as they poised themselves to bite her neck.

"Letmegoletmegoletmegoletmego!" Ino screeched as she struggled fruitlessly.

"I didn't hear a please…" Sakura trilled in a sing-song voice.

It was barely audible. "Please."

Sakura smiled and withdrew her snakes.

"Well done, Sakura," Iruka praised as he watched the snakes slither back into the kunoichi's wrists.

A few more students volunteered to attempt jutsu, and the test ended after Naruto and Sasuke had once again attempted to outdo each other. The Uchiha had stepped up and unleashed a massive fireball that scorched a large portion of the academy's grounds.

Naruto, not to be outdone, cockily stepped forward and shouted, "Futon: Daitoppa!"

After a five minute lecture from both teachers covering the numerous reasons why destruction of property was illegal, the chunin had grudgingly awarded both boys additional points.

As the class was dismissed, Mizuki asked Naruto to walk with him.

"What's up, Mizuki-sensei?"

The chunin scratched his chin. "Well Naruto, we've run into an interesting problem this year…"

Naruto stopped walking. "What is it, Mizuki-sensei?"

"Well, you and Sasuke are currently tied for the title of Rookie of the Year, something that hasn't occurred in quite some time."

"What happens now?"

The chunin smiled. "A tie-breaker, of course! Right now Iruka-sensei is assigning Sasuke his task, and I'm here to give you yours. Whichever one of you completes the assignment in the most efficient manner will be awarded the title Rookie of the Year."

The masked blonde nodded, his face growing serious. "What do I have to do, sensei?"

The white-haired chunin placed a hand on the newly minted genin's shoulders. "What do you know about the Scroll of Seals?"

* * *

**Jutsu**

**Sairento Kiringu- **Silent Homicide

**Magen: Kyou Tenchi-ten**- Demonic Illusion: Mirror Heaven and Earth Change

**Shintenshin no Jutsu**- Mind Body Switch Technique

**Sen'eijashu**- Hidden Shadow Snake Hands

**Futon: Daitoppa**- Wind Release: Great Breakthrough

**A/N:** Greetings, folks. I hope you enjoyed the first "official" chapter. Firstly, I'd like to think everyone who reviewed the prologue; you guys make it all worthwhile. Now, about this chapter, I chose to skip over Naruto's training for a specific reason. I don't like to go into great detail concerning character training because I feel it gives too much away concerning their abilities and takes some of the suspense out of battles. It's not as fun if the readers already know everything the characters can do. Also, they academy years were not covered for a similar reason. As the story progresses, more and more will be revealed about the character's childhoods; all in good time, folks. Also, if you're looking for character bashing, you won't find it here. Nothing ruins a good story more than character bashing, so I make it a point to avoid it. Furthermore, you might find that certain characters will behave differently from canon… well, this is an AU fic and the Brotherhood's web of influence reaches further than you might think….

Now, about pairings… this is most likely going to remain a Naruto/Haku/Hinata story. Haku will be involved with naruto before Hinata, but all three will eventually come together. I understand that the number of Naru/Hina fics is growing by the second, and I realize that a lot are very sub-par, but all I ask of you is to give it a chance. We all have our personal preferences, and that's fine. If you're going to hate the pairing, hate it because you think I'm shitty writer and don't do the characters justice, not because you're tired of seeing it. Anyway, next chapter we have the survival tests and much action, so look forward to that. And, in this chapter, two very important things happened, bonus points to anyone who can pick them out. See you guys next time,

**-Andrew**

**P.S.: **I'm in the process of looking for a beta that I can bounce ideas off of, and can find the occasional grammatical error. If anyone's interested, let me know in a review, or shoot me a P.M.


	3. A Patchwork Black

**Chapter II: A Patchwork Black **

"_All the truth in the world adds up to one big lie." _–Bob Dylan

* * *

Mizuki scowled in annoyance when he saw Iruka approach Naruto and begin demanding to know why the freshly minted genin had stolen one of village's most prized possessions.

"_These things never really go as planned, do they?" _The traitor asked himself before quietly unsheathing one of the fuuma shuriken on his back. _"Oh well… bad timing, Iruka…"_

The rogue chunin took careful aim at the back of his former student's head before swinging his arm and hurling the gigantic shuriken at him. Mizuki grimaced as the fuuma shuriken imbedded itself in the flesh of Iruka's back. The white-haired shinobi jumped down with a sneer of contempt.

"You just had to get involved, didn't you Iruka? You always were a bit too nosey, and now you've gone and butted into some personal business between Naruto and I…"

"Mi-Mizuki…" Iruka panted as he drew a kunai to defend himself with, "what is the meaning of this!?"

"Why, Naruto's just earning his spot as Rookie of the Year, is all!" Mizuki cackled, "And he was doing just fine until you decided to stick that scarred nose of yours where it didn't belong!"

Iruka gripped his kunai tighter. "You used him, Mizuki! What were you really plotting!?" The chunin snarled.

"Very well, I guess I might as well tell you… it really won't matter in a few moments…" Mizuki said, grasping for his other fuuma shuriken. "I've grown tired of being held back by this worthless village, so I've decided to go someplace where my talents will be appreciated… and I'm taking the Scroll of Seals with me. And, I've decided to offer Naruto a place by my side… a place where he'll be appreciated for what he–"

"Stop Mizuki, it's forbidden!"

"You're in no position to make any demands, Iruka!" The traitor yelled before turning to Naruto, "So how about it, Naruto? You wanna know why the villagers all shun you, do you know why they want you dead?"

Naruto felt his blood run cold; this was not what he expected. "What do you know about that?" He whispered.

Mizuki smirked as the bait was taken. "You know of the Yondaime's exploits, yes? Even you wouldn't neglect to learn about the most powerful shinobi that ever came from our village," Mizuki sneered, chuckling at his own joke, "But what do you really know about the night Kyuubi no Yoko attacked Konoha? Do you honestly believe a demon such as the Kyuubi can be killed?"

"What the hell are you talking about, Mizuki!?" Naruto demanded, drawing his own kunai.

"Don't listen to him, Naruto! Run! Find help!"

"SHUT UP, IRUKA!" Mizuki bellowed, "It's time he learned the truth. it's time someone was honest with Naruto… for you see, Naruto, Yondaime-sama couldn't defeat the Kyuubi, he was forced to seal it away with a jutsu that can be found in that very scroll. Twelve years ago, Hokage-sama used the Shiki Fuuin to seal the Kyuubi into a newborn baby… that child was you, Naruto! You are the Kyuubi no Yoko!"

"He's lying, Naruto! You are not the fox! You are its prison, no more, no less!" Iruka shouted, his hopes fading as he watched Naruto stiffen.

"Is it true, Iruka-sensei? Did Yondaime really do this to me…?"

"Naruto, I–"

"It is true, Naruto! The whole village has lied to you and treated you like garbage! But I offer you a different choice…"

The masked jinchuuriki looked up. "Choice?"

Mizuki's insane grin cracked wider. "Yes, join me and we'll leave this village behind for a place where our talents will be appreciated and nurtured! We will offer the Scroll of Sealing as a gift, and receive power for it!"

"No, Naruto! Don't let him have the scroll, he mustn't get his hands on it!"

"Forget about him, Naruto! He's just like the rest of those useless villagers; they don't care about you or what you have to offer! Give me the scroll, and together we'll make this village regret underestimating us!"

Iruka felt his heart break when he watched Naruto slowly make his way to Mizuki and offer the scroll; his blonde student's name dying on his lips as he fell into unconsciousness. "Naruto…"

The traitorous chunin cackled with glee as he accepted the scroll. "Excellent work, Naruto! Now we'll just set our sights on Ta no Kuni!"

Mizuki paused as he felt a small amount of resistance from Naruto when he attempted to take the scroll.

"Thanks for the information, Mizuki-sensei… I honestly didn't know about the Kyuubi. But I'm afraid we aren't going to be going anywhere tonight…"

The chunin's face quickly grew enraged. "What are you babbling about you little–"

"I meant that you won't be presenting Orochimaru with the Scroll of Sealing, Mizuki."

The white-haired man's eyebrows raised and his eyes widened. "H-How…?"

Naruto grinned under his mask; playing with "prey" was always amusing. "_We_ know everything that goes on within the village walls, Mizuki. Especially things that concern the safety of our Sanctuary; it is in the Brotherhood's best interests that this particular artifact remains in the village, safe from Orochimaru's traitorous hands…"

Mizuki was beginning to sweat, when the Brotherhood set their sights on you, it always meant death. "W-Wait… we can work something out, I'll give you the scroll, and you let me walk away…"

Naruto shook his head in the nugatory. "We don't want the scroll, Mizuki; it would draw too much unwanted attention. The Brotherhood cares not about treasonous plays for power and inter-village politics; we are only ensuring that our… _work_ remains–"

The genin stopped abruptly when he felt Mizuki's kunai pierce his ribcage.

"You won't be doing anything, you little shit!" Mizuki snarled triumphantly.

To the chunin's horror, he saw Naruto's mask stretch as he grinned, muttering the last word he would ever hear.

"Boom."

Two simultaneous explosions shook the small forest clearing as Naruto and the Scroll of Sealing erupted in a burning inferno that towered over the nearby trees. What was left of the traitorous chunin flew back, crashing into a tree before sliding down pitifully as the real Naruto dropped from his perch, the Scroll secured firmly around his torso.

"So stubborn, Mizuki-sensei… it didn't have to be this painful," Naruto remarked as he watched Mizuki quiver and struggle to hold onto life, even though three of his limbs were nothing but bloody stumps with jagged and charred bone protruding at odd angles.

"Still," Naruto muttered as he withdrew a kunai and small pouch from his jacket, "I suppose I owe you one small act of mercy for informing me of my… unique situation in life," the blonde explained as he drew a few violet petals and rubbed them on the blade of his kunai before gripping the dying man's head.

"Say hello to the Night Mother for me, Sensei," the assassin whispered before dragging the kunai across Mizuki's neck, putting the traitor out of his misery.

The blonde stood and began making his way over to Iruka, eternally grateful that his teacher had lost consciousness at the best possible time. The scarred shinobi would be able to confirm Mizuki's treachery when Naruto was hauled in for questioning.

The genin knelt down and gently shook his teacher awake. "Iruka-sensei, are you okay?"

The teacher slowly roused before jumping up and drawing another kunai. "Where's Mizuki!?" He shouted, head whipping around and scanning for threats.

"He's dead, Iruka-sensei," Naruto answered, pointing a finger in Mizuki's direction.

Iruka turned to look where Naruto was pointing.

He immediately regretted the action. The sight of his former colleague reduced to a helpless lump of flesh was indeed a shocking one… it was the type of violence he hadn't seen since the Kyuubi's attack–

Iruka shook his head to banish those thoughts; Naruto was _not_ the Kyuubi. "What exactly did you do, Naruto?"

The young shinobi scratched the back of his head as he let out a dry chuckle. "Mizuki-sensei told me that if I stole the Scroll of Sealing and mastered a jutsu from it, I would be named Rookie of the Year over Sasuke. I managed to figure out that Mizuki was using me, but not before I learned the Bunshin Daibakuha…"

Iruka winced, that was truly a horrible way to go… "But if you did that, why did you slit Mizuki's throat?"

"He had lost, Iruka-sensei… there was no point in his continued suffering."

The chunin nodded, happy that his student possessed the capability for mercy. As much as Iruka was loathe to admit it, he knew that a lot of his former pupils would grow to like torture and killing, they would learn to take pleasure in the suffering of others; it was somewhat comforting to know that the student he thought of as an adopted brother of sorts had emerged from his first kill with his humanity intact… for now.

Iruka killed that line of thinking and placed a comforting hand on Naruto's shoulder. "I'm proud of you, Naruto. You showed quick thinking in a tough situation, and more importantly, you saved my life."

Naruto smiled behind his mask. "I've got you back, Iruka-sensei!"

The scarred ninja smiled back. "I'm glad… Now, I think we'd better get this scroll back to Hokage-sama, Naruto."

The blonde nodded as teacher and student made their way back to the village's main square. "Yeah… I don't suppose that you could include this incident when you decide who gets Rookie of the Year, could you?"

Iruka chuckled as he ruffled Naruto's hair. "Naruto, you stole a priceless village artifact and then you blew up a teacher! You've kind of removed yourself from the running…"

"Some might consider that as going the extra mile, Iruka-sensei…"

The chunin let out a hearty laugh as he steered his wayward student to the Hokage Tower.

* * *

"What did the Hokage tell you, Naruto-kun?"

"He simply explained that I was not going to be reprimanded for my actions and thanked me for returning the Scroll of Sealing."

"That's good–" cough, cough "–Naruto-kun. It seems your mission was a success, as dictated by the Speaker, I know confer upon you the rank of Assassin. Congratulations."

The masked blonde bowed. "Thank you, Hayate-sensei."

"Did anything else of importance happen?"

"No, Sensei. No one suspects that I was sent to assassinate Mizuki, they all believe I was tricked into being his patsy."

Hayate coughed before smiling and withdrawing a long, ornate black box. "I am proud of you, Naruto-kun. Over the past six years I have watched you grow in strength and cunning. You have taken to the way of the sword like a fish to water, and it has been an honor to instruct you. As Assassins, we are now equals… something that I am proud to say.

"However," Hayate continued after another cough, "you will be handling contracts of harder difficulty, and you are now eligible to be given contracts that involve other shinobi. These types of missions can prove quite dangerous, so I've gotten you something that will prove to be invaluable when you find yourself in an unfavorable situation."

"Thank you, Hayate-sensei." Naruto said as Hayate laid out the obsidian box on the table between them.

"This is the Ebony Blade, Naruto," Hayate explained as he opened the box, revealing a katana with a barely noticeable curve and simple black hilt, topped off with a bronze tsuba, and its scabbard. "Legend says that this blade is empowered with the blood of Sithis and blessed by the Night Mother herself. This is one of the finest swords known to man, and will never fail you. It is with a great deal of honor that I bequeath it to you."

Naruto reached out and accepted the offered katana. "Thank you, Hayate-sensei, it's beautiful," the blonde remarked as he examined the blade. The katana's hilt seemed unusually cool to the touch as Naruto ran his fingers over the numerous seals engraved into the pitch black hilt. "It truly is a masterpiece, Sensei."

The sickly jonin smirked. "You are indeed a lucky swordsman, Naruto-kun. But the Ebony Blade is made from a rare metal known for its rather unique properties… try channeling some of your chakra through it."

Naruto did as told and was shocked when black flames began to dance along the blade's edge before flickering and dying.

"It seems you'll need to continue your kenjutsu training if you ever hope to master 'Mephala's Bite.'"

The jinchuuriki sheathed the sword and bowed low. "Thank you for this gift, Hayate-sensei, I'll use it well."

Hayate gave a dry cough as he placed a hand on his pupil's shoulder. "I am sure you will remind this world why that blade is an artifact of legend, Naruto-kun."

* * *

"Is this a joke, Hokage-sama?"

Sarutobi sighed in resignation. "I assure you, Kakashi, the teams were placed as so for a reason."

"I am not an idiot, Hokage-sama. There is obviously a very specific reason you put _this_ team together, and there is another– most likely _more_ specific– reason you have charged me with their training…"

"You know that no one else can train–"

"I meant besides the obvious fact that I can help the Uchiha further develop his Sharingan, Hokage-sama." Kakashi politely interrupted.

The elderly man glared at his subordinate before withdrawing three folders and laying them out on his desk. "Read them, but remember that what they contain stays between us."

The silver-haired jonin grabbed the three files and gave each one a onceover, his lone visible eye widening after he finished each file.

"These three genin are unique, Kakashi. We are placing the Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi clan heirs together because their clan jutsu have been proven to be most useful when combined. The Hyuga, Inuzuka, and Aburame will make one of the best tracking and retrieval teams the village has ever seen… but Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura will be something more, Kakashi."

The copy-nin was beginning to see where Sarutobi was going; he hoped he was wrong.

"Why are they even allowed to be ninja? According to their files, Naruto is believed to have killed over a fifty-seven people from several of the neighboring villages, Sasuke is obsessed with gaining power to surpass his brother, and Sakura is nothing more than a smaller version of Anko with a revenge complex… why are any of them allowed to wear hitai-ite?"

Hiruzen withdrew his pipe and lit, inhaling the sweet smoke. "Because there is nowhere else for them, Kakashi; shinobi is all they have. Do you honestly think this village would accept Sasuke as anything but a shinobi? Do you think someone in Sakura's position could accept anything less than justice?"

The jonin nodded, acknowledging the Hokage's argument. "But what about Naruto, Hokage-sama?"

Kakashi watched Sarutobi glance out the window and stare forlornly at the Hokage monument, looking every one of his sixty-eight years.

"What else does the boy have, Kakashi? Twelve and a half years ago, we decided that the need of the many outweighed the need of any one individual. It was an easy and logical choice for Minato, Jiraiya, and I to make; had we not, the village would not be standing today. But what about young Naruto? Out of everyone living in this village, he is the only person standing on the other end of that choice."

The Hokage sagged in his chair and Kakashi found himself truly pitying the man. "I'll never forget watching Minato's heart break when he realized what he was condemning his son to. I have survived two Shinobi Wars, and nothing will ever compare to that haunted look in Minato's eyes when he realized that he had been forced to compare the worth of his only son to that of the village and conclude that the village had won.

"The entire populace of the village has shunned and hated him until they drove him into the arms of the Dark Brotherhood. We all prospered and moved forward while no one bothered to consider the little boy who was left behind." The Hokage took another deep drag from his pipe before leveling his gaze at Kakashi. "Your three students have one thing in common, one fact about them that unites them."

"What is that, Hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked, intrigued by Sarutobi's tale of his late sensei's last moments with Naruto.

"Not one of them has anything to tie them to this village. Sasuke seeks the power to destroy Itachi, something that the other villages would be more than willing to give him in exchange for the Sharingan. Sakura is determined to find her father's murderer and avenge him, a task that does not require her to remain in the village. And Naruto… his loyalty belongs to the Brotherhood, so long as he has them, he doesn't need us.

"You see, Kakashi, they have been placed under your instruction because you are the only one capable of handling them. You are the best jonin under my command and I am tasking you with their training because if these three aren't handled properly, they may very well turn against us to achieve their own goals. And I honestly don't think we could come out victorious against the power the three of them have to throw at us."

The jonin sat down and pinched the bridge of his nose. "What is it you want me to do exactly, Hokage-sama?"

Sarutobi exhaled another lungful of smoke as he collected the files and put them away. "Train them, Kakashi. Help them realize that there is more to life than vengeance, killing, and hatred. I know it won't be easy, but you have to show them that they haven't seen or done it all yet. I need you to get them ready to handle missions that I won't be able to assign to other shinobi."

Hiruzen Sarutobi set down his pipe and looked straight into Kakashi's visible eye, over fifty years of shinobi life swimming behind his dark brown orbs. "I need you to turn them into this village's next 'Shadow' team."

"Hokage-sama, with all due respect, do you have any idea of what you're asking of me? How can you possibly expect me to train another set of Sannin? Don't you remember how that turned out the first time?"

"I am not asking you turn them into the next Sannin, Kakashi. The time to be blunt has arrived," Sarutobi answered, "They are killers. One of them has killed before, and the others will kill in the future. I am asking you to take these three children and help train them to kill the _right_ people, train them to be the saviors of this village, capable of handling the gravest of problems."

Kakashi shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "But Hokage-sama, why _me_? What makes you think I can succeed where you failed? How can you possibly think that I am capable of turning these three genin into Sannin-caliber shinobi?"

The aged Hokage smiled. "Because, Kakashi, you are the only one capable of truly understanding them."

* * *

"What the fuck are you wearing?"

"Language, Sasuke-kun. There are ladies present," Sakura chided, indicating herself and their other female classmates.

"Hn. Answer the question, dobe."

The Uchiha's interest had been captured when his blonde classmate had entered the classroom dressed in a most peculiar fashion. The katana strapped horizontally to Naruto's lower back had only added to Sasuke's curiosity.

"This," Naruto began indicating his attire, "is what we call a shinobi shouzoku or 'ninja gear' for our more _challenged_ students. It's what a ninja wears, Sasuke-chan. Do you know what a ninja is? Come on… those people who jump real high, run real fast, throw sharp things, and use fancy jutsu…"

"Hn." The Uchiha sneered, once again closing his eyes and leaning back in his seat.

Naruto grinned beneath his mask as he made his way to his seat between Hinata and Shikamaru. _"He he he. Naruto: 1, Sasuke-chan: 0…"_

"Good m-morning, Naruto-kun."

"Mornin', Hinata-chan!" The blonde answered as he plopped down into his seat.

A resigned sigh caught the masked shinobi's attention. "Naruto, as troublesome as it is to ask, _is_ there a particular reason you're dressed like that?"

The Nara heir found his friend's new appearance to be rather odd. Naruto was clad in a sleeveless, black ninja gi that he had tucked into a very loose fitting pair of shinobi pants that were tied off at Naruto's knees and tucked into a pair of armored greaves that protected his shins and feet, which were currently occupying a pair of tabi boots. The jinchuuriki also wore a pair of gauntlets to match his greaves that extended from his knuckles to his elbows; the entire ensemble was completed with a black mesh undershirt and Naruto's usual shinobi mask.

The Kyuubi container chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "Heh… I like to think I'm in my 'work clothes…'"

Before the shadow user could respond, Iruka entered the classroom and informed the graduates that the time for team assignments had come.

"Before I announce the teams, I'd just like to say how proud I am of all of you. I've spent the last six years training all of you, and I am confident when I say that I expect…" The chunin trailed off as he spotted a familiar mop of blonde completely covered in black clothing. "…Naruto, what the hell are you wearing…?"

"Work clothes…" Was Naruto's half-hearted reply as Hinata attempted to hide her giggles.

Iruka shook his head, far too used to his student's eccentricities to be too perturbed by his odd style of dress. "Anyway, I look forward to hearing of all of your future accomplishments, and believe me when I say I expect great things from you all. Now for the teams…"

Hinata fidgeted in her seat as she heard Iruka begin listing off teams until a familiar name drew her attention. _"Please let me be with Naruto-kun…"_

"Team 7: Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno… Team 8: Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, and Hinata Hyuga… Team 9…"

The Hyuga heiress sighed as her hopes were crushed. "You are on a very talented team, Naruto-kun."

The blonde grinned as he patted Hinata on the back, causing her to blush slightly. "Of course it's a talented team, Hinata-chan; I'm on it, after all!" Naruto joked before adopting a more somber tone. "I'm sorry we couldn't be on the same team, though. Even if we would have been stuck with our lazy-ass friend, it would have been worth it, Sunshine."

Hinata smiled at the play on her name. "It'll be alright, Naruto-kun. I'm sure Sakura-chan will be able to keep you out of trouble."

"…Team 10: Shikamaru Nara, Chouji Akimichi, and Ino Yamanaka…"

When Iruka finished listing off the new teams he once again wished them all luck before departing to begin preparing all the paperwork to have the students' files transferred over to the shinobi registry.

Naruto leaned back in his chair while he idly chatted with Hinata and Shikamaru until a woman with tussled brown hair and dark, crimson eyes entered and announced herself as Kurenai Yuuhi, jonin commander of Team 8. The blonde bid goodbye to Hinata and wished her luck, promising to catch up with her when he got the chance. The waiting continued until a man smoking a cigarette arrived and introduced himself as Asuma Sarutobi, jonin commander of Team 10.

The jinchuuriki grinned as Shikamaru sighed heavily and slouched away, his only farewell a lazy wave of his hand.

Shaking his head at the Nara's laziness, Naruto turned to examine his new teammates. Sakura and Sasuke were in their usual seats next to each other, Sakura casually twirling a kunai on her finger– a look of absolute boredom plastered on her face– while Sasuke sat back in his chair, eyes closed and fingers steepled.

The Pinkette noticed Naruto looking in their direction and gently nudged her desk mate. "Sasuke-kun, how about we go sit with Naruto and start… 'bonding' as a team. You know… get to know each other a little better, we'll be working together for awhile, after all."

"No." He didn't even bother to open his eyes.

Sakura rolled her eyes and began walking over to Naruto, stopping and raising an eyebrow when the blonde coughed into his hand. "What was that?"

"Oh, nothing, just a little cough. Erhm! Erhmsasukesapussyerhm!"

The pinkette's eyebrow ticked. "I _hate_ that word, Naruto. It's so damn disgusting!"

Naruto's mask stretched slightly as he grinned. "It's a normal word, Sakura-chan. 'Pussy,' it's just part of being a girl," Naruto stated matter-of-factly before adding, "Nothing disgusting about it."

The girl huffed in exasperation. "Ugh! Boys throw that fucking word around so casually! Like any of you would even know what to with one," she scoffed.

Naruto was thankful his mask hid the blush coloring his cheeks, but his pride would not allow him to back down. "Well how about you let me take you out tonight after we meet our sensei, and I'll show what I know…" The jinchuuriki proposed with a suggestive wink.

"Why wait… _Naruto-kun_…" Sakura asked as she slowly sauntered over to her blonde teammate. "We're in a classroom, after all," she continued, using her foot to slide Naruto's chair away from the long desk, "How about you _teach_ little old me exactly what you can do with one…" Sakura whispered as she sat down, straddling Naruto's lap and causing his eyes to go wide.

"S-Sakura-chan…?"

"_Come on, Naruto_-_kun_," she whined, leaning into him to whisper into his ear, "You talk too much… but I know that tongue of yours is gotta be good for something else…" Sakura suggested in husky voice.

Naruto shivered when he felt Sakura's nails scrape over his scalp as she entwined some of his hair in her fingers and tugged gently. "I…"

Next to Naruto's ear, Sakura grinned triumphantly, Anko's words ringing in her ears.

"_They think with the head between their legs and are conditioned to respond a specific way to every situation. When you act disgusted, they think they've won and act accordingly. Call 'em on it; make them try and think with the head on their shoulders… signals get crossed and it's like watching a chicken run around after getting its head lopped off."_

Sakura pushed forward, forcing Naruto back and sending the chair crashing to the ground. The blonde genin suddenly found himself flat on his back with Sakura straddling his chest, pressing a kunai to his throat. "What's wrong, Naruto-_chan_? No witty comeback? Cat got your tongue? Or maybe you've just realized that–"

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

The pinkette looked up to see a tall, masked man with a mop of silvery hair standing in the doorway. Comprehension dawned on her and she dropped her kunai.

The masked shinobi chuckled. "A good first impression if I ever saw one," he remarked with the smallest of giggles, "Meet me up on the roof when you're all finished here." The jonin instructed before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

Sasuke immediately shunshin'd away, eager to escape the classroom and put the six years spent sitting through Iruka's lectures behind him.

Sakura, with as much dignity as one could muster while blushing like a tomato, gently rose off of Naruto and fixed him with a stern glare. "I hope you've learned your lesson," was all she could come up with before she turned on her heel and made her way out of the room, praying to God that her new jonin sensei wouldn't tell Anko about what he saw.

* * *

"Now that everyone's here," the jonin began once Naruto came up the stairs and sat to the far right placing Sasuke between himself and Sakura, "we can begin the introductions!"

"What exactly are we supposed to say?" Sakura asked.

The jonin scratched his chin. "Hmmm… names, likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams for the future… all that good stuff."

"Why don't you go first then, and show us how it's done, Sensei?"

"Fair enough. My name is Kakashi Hatake. Likes and dislikes… hmmm… you gotta enjoy the little things, I suppose. Dreams for the future… I haven't really given it much thought. Hobbies… I'm a man of many interests."

The three genin could only stare at their sensei as he gave a self-satisfied nod of approval before pointing to Sakura. "You're up first, Anko Jr."

The pinkette scowled. He was definitely going to tell Anko. "My name is Sakura Haruno. I enjoy hanging out with Anko-neechan, and I despise idiot boys who don't know which head to think with," at this point Sakura shot Naruto a pointed glare and the blonde gave her a cheerful wave in return, "My hobbies include reading and cooking, and my dream for the future is to see a long forgotten murder case solved, and the one responsible brought to justice."

Kakashi nodded and pointed to Sasuke. "You're up next, Sleepy."

Two crimson eyes opened to glare at Kakashi before Sasuke finally began, his Sharingan never deviating from Kakashi's masked face. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I like very few things, but some of the things I dislike include the Sun, loud noises, and Naruto–"

"Love you, too, Sasuke-chan!"

"–I don't have hobbies, and the only thing certain in my future is that I will finish another man's work by killing him and ending what he started."

The jonin raised an eyebrow. "What about your clan? Do you not wish to restore it?"

The six tomoe in Sasuke's eyes sped up as the teen stared long and hard into Kakashi's lone visible eye before speaking. "Uchiha is dead."

"Interesting," Kakashi muttered as Sasuke once again closed his eyes, "And now, the stereotype of our little group…"

Naruto cocked his head to the side. "'Stereotype?'"

"Well, the shinobi shouzoku fell out of favor over a hundred years ago. At the time, it was what every ninja wore, regardless of rank, affiliation, or gender. When civilians tell cliché stories about ninja lurking in the night, the shinobi shouzoku is what they're talking about."

Naruto adopted a thinking pose, cupping his chin with his hand. "That's an interesting point, Kakashi-sensei. But, tell me, did you ever wonder why it was universally worn by every ninja at the time? Maybe the only reason it became a cliché reference was because everyone was wearing it… and maybe the only reason everyone was wearing it was because it was effective. Clichés and stereotypes only exist because the masses have put them into widespread use, but that doesn't mean that the original idea behind them is flawed."

"Interesting," Kakashi remarked, "But how do explain the mask?"

"My face is my own business."

"_I like this one, he's got the right mindset to go far…"_ "If you say so, but you neglected to introduce yourself."

The blonde scowled and crossed his arms. "Fine. I'm Naruto Uzumaki, I like ramen, and kenjutsu. I dislike ignorant people and assholes who think they're better than everyone else. My hobbies are training, learning new jutsu, and horticulture. And dreams for the future… well, I guess I'd like to settle down and start a family of my own." Naruto divulged, his eyes softening at the mention of beginning a family.

"_An odd dream for a shinobi…"_ "Excellent!" Kakashi stated, ignoring the fact that the only real things his students told him were their names. "Now, the three of you will need to meet me at training ground thirty-seven at six a.m. tomorrow morning for your survival test."

"What's the point of _this_ test, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura asked.

"Well, you've all passed the graduation exams, but that doesn't necessarily mean you're ready for the responsibility of being a shinobi. Tomorrow, every team will be tested by their jonin sensei, and only about thirty-three percent of them will pass. Those that pass will begin undertaking missions, those that fail will return to the Academy for six months of 'remedial training.'"

Kakashi repressed a chuckle as his three students shuddered in horror. "Well… I believe that's it for today. I assume you're all eager to begin preparing for the exam, so I'll leave you with some free advice: Naruto, you might want to skip breakfast, otherwise that mask will ensure you drown in your own vomit. Sakura, don't bother asking Anko about the test, the only thing she can tell you is that I've failed every genin team I've ever been given. And Sasuke, go home and take a nap; you'll need that Sharingan of yours at full power if you hope to make it through tomorrow without a nasty case of chakra exhaustion."

The jonin watched in satisfaction as Naruto glanced forlornly in the direction of Ichiraku Ramen, Sasuke bristled in anger, and Sakura paled at the realization that Anko wasn't going to be able to save her this time.

"Guess I'll see you kids bright and early tomorrow morning!" Kakashi said jovially before he vanished in swirl of leaves.

Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke simply stood there, struggling to comprehend the horrible turn of events, the phrases "failed every genin team" and "six months of remedial training" the only thing occupying their thoughts as a gentle breeze rustled their hair and clothing.

Finally, after what seemed like hours of silence, their reverie was broken by Naruto who had finally discovered the proper way to describe their situation.

"Fuck."

No one had the heart to contradict him.

* * *

**A/N:** Well that was a fun one to write, particularly the classroom scene. Ah, high school… so awkward and unpleasant when girls become offended by crass language. Looking back on it all, I probably should have just shut the fuck up and saved everyone the trouble. Oh well, censorship is for communists. Anyway, this chapter actually served a purpose, gotta feed you all a little bit of characterization before we move too far ahead. You might want to keep the title and quote in mind as you think it over, too; everything serves a purpose. As for the Ebony Blade, that's a little something for all the Oblivion fans, plus it hints at the larger picture when one considers its demonic origin. As always, I welcome all questions and comments, so you should review to make me feel better. See you next time for the Bell Test.

**-Andrew**


	4. The Frail, the Fragile, and the Wretched

**Chapter III: The Frail, the Fragile, and the Wretched **

"_Those who hate most fervently must have once loved deeply; those who want to deny the world must have once embraced what they now set on fire.__" _–Kurt Tucholsky

* * *

Naruto rapped on the door three times, looking back and forth to ensure no one saw him waiting for entry. After a few seconds, sounds could be heard and the echoes of footsteps grew louder until the door finally swung open and the young jinchuuriki was assaulted with the smells of sex, stale sweat, and smoke.

"What the fuck do you want at this hour, you little shit!?"

The blonde regarded the house's owner with disdain. He was a genin even at the age of twenty, denied promotion because of his known drug, alcohol, and prostitution habits. He was currently dressed in a pair of loose, blue shinobi pants… and nothing else; allowing anyone who bothered to gaze upon the numerous tattoos, seals, and kanji that had been inked into his skin. The flowing black ink began at his neck and descended to cover the entirety of his torso, stopping just below his navel on his abdomen, and fully covering his arms in a pair of sleeves that stopped at his wrists. The wonderful image of "addict" was completed with a mop of dirty blonde hair that fell to the man's shoulders, a few stray bangs hanging over his eyes.

"You know why I'm here, Tetsuo." Naruto answered as he crossed the threshold and entered the house.

Tetsuo slammed the door shut behind him. "I know why the fuck you come here to bother me every week, fuck-twat! I'm asking why the fuck you have me up at five-thirty in the goddamned morning!?" The junkie snapped as he made his way to one of the two large couches decorating his sitting room.

"Someone's crabby this morning; did I catch you before you caught the dragon?" Naruto remarked as the pair sat down in opposite couches.

"_Ha ha_. So fuckin' funny! Who writes your material?" Tetsuo exclaimed sarcastically before he began to nudge something under the table with his foot.

"So I'll take that as a yes, then…" Naruto trailed off as a naked, most certainly _female_, form gingerly rose from the floor and blearily surveyed the room.

"Party's over, hime," Tetsuo stated as he pulled a tray of white powder closer to himself and began separating some from the pile.

The girl pouted and pressed herself to Tetsuo, Naruto figured she couldn't be older than seventeen. "Come on, Tetsuo-kun… I'm sure you're little friend over there wants me to stay…"

The junkie inhaled sharply through his nose before throwing his head back in rambunctious laughter. "HA HA HA! Naruto!? Kid's a fuckin' faggot! Watch, hey fuck-twat, you want a blow job?"

Naruto scowled at the older genin. "Can we just get on with what I came here for?"

Tetsuo smirked as he held a kunai to the girl's nose and allowed her to snort some of his drug. "See? What kind of fairy-fuck doesn't want his dick sucked by some young… pretty… little thing?" Tetsuo asked as he began to nip at the girl's neck.

"I'm not sure, Tetsuo-kun…" the prostitute murmured, leaning her head back.

The jinchuuriki blushed and looked away when he saw Tetsuo's hand make its way between the girl's legs, causing her to moan softly.

"Why don't you head up stairs, hime? I'll deal with the little faggot and be up in a few," Tetsuo suggested, giving the girl a firm slap on the rear as motivation.

Naruto watched the girl give him a suggestive wink before she scampered up the stairs and disappeared from sight. "You are by far the sorriest excuse for a human being I have ever met," Naruto commented as Tetsuo withdrew a hand rolled cigarette—which Naruto assumed wasn't actually a cigarette—and lit it.

The overly pungent smoke Tetsuo blew in his face confirmed the jinchuuriki's suspicions.

"You never did tell me," Tetsuo began as he smoked his "cigarette," "why it is you saw fit to bother me this early in the morning. You're usually an afternoon visitor, half-pint."

"My sensei is administering a 'survival test' in half an hour and I don't know when I'll be finished, my instructions were to meet my new contact immediately after my completion of the exam."

"Awww… little Naruto-chan's growing up!" Tetsuo simpered while getting up and withdrawing a sealed envelope from the end table next to his couch.

"Don't give me that shit, Tetsuo! You might be older than me, but you're still nothing but a genin in the village, and an Assassin in the Brotherhood. As far as everyone's concerned, and as much as it disgusts me, we're equals now."

The older genin handed Naruto the envelope and exhaled more smoke. "You're not my equal, fuck-twat. Put that business out of your faggotty mind right goddamned now. The only reason I don't outrank you is because I've got better things to do than give a fuck about moving up in this shithole of a world.

"I could kill you where you stand on a _whim_, and there wouldn't be a fucking thing you could do about it. The only reason I haven't reduced you to a stain on the wall is because Lucien would come down on my ass like a ton of bricks."

Naruto scoffed. "I thank you for your kindness, oh great Tetsuo-sama."

Tetsuo blew another stream of smoke in Naruto's face. "Be damn grateful for my mercy streak, fuck-twat. Because one of these days, you're gonna run your mouth off to the wrong person, and they're gonna fuckin' _erase_ you– like you never even existed." The older boy warned before biting his thumb and smearing blood on one of the two seals imprinted on Naruto's letter. "There, when you're ready to read that, put some blood on the other seal."

"Thanks, Tetsuo. That just might be the nicest thing you've ever done for me." Naruto quipped as he pocketed the envelope.

"Yeah, well, I'm about to get some pussy—_good_ pussy, at that—so I guess I can afford to be charitable today," Tetsuo answered as he rose and grabbed a handful of powder, dumping it into his pocket as he ambled over to the stairs.

"Girls don't like that word, you know," Naruto stated sagely.

The older genin stopped halfway up the stairs and snorted the powder sticking to his fingers. "I'd imagine the things girls don't like could fill a very large book. Thing is, I'd sooner use that book to wipe my ass than actually read it– lock the door on your way out."

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle as he watched Tetsuo stumble up the stairs, breaking out into full laughter when he heard a door get kicked open, Tetsuo loudly announcing that it was "time for some fucking."

* * *

Sakura Haruno was bored.

Her new sensei had told her to be at the training ground by six, and, being the sensible girl she was, Sakura had arrived at five-thirty to give herself ample time to warm up.

It was now nine-thirty and the wayward jonin was nowhere in sight.

And as if his tardiness wasn't bad enough, the silver-haired jonin also deemed it necessary to inform Anko of her actions towards her foulmouthed teammate.

The snake mistress had been merciless in her teasing, assuring a horribly embarrassed Sakura that she was in fact not yet ready to "play with the big girls," and to "keep practicing, and always remember that women are defined from the waist down."

Sakura looked down at her breasts and scowled, remembering the condescending poke in the chest Anko had given her.

"_It's not my fault I'm a bit behind… not like Hinata,"_ Sakura thought, remembering her shy classmate, _"I know what she's hiding under that coat…"_

The pinkette tore herself from her musings on breast development, after assuring herself that she was at least beating Ino at the moment, and turned to her male counterparts. Sasuke was… well, being Sasuke. The Uchiha was sitting quietly besides a training post, eyes closed and hands resting in his lap. Sakura knew he was in one of his "moods" because of the survival test Kakashi had sprung on him. The kunoichi didn't think Sasuke's pride could survive being sent back to the Academy for another six months. Deep down, she realized, Sasuke Uchiha was nervous.

Letting out a sigh, Sakura turned to her other teammate. Naruto had arrived last and, after a brief greeting of "Mornin' Sakura-chan, Sasuke-chan," had proceeded to sit himself under a nearby tree and meditate.

And there he remained for the next three hours, clad in what he had cleverly dubbed his "work clothes" with his newfound katana laid across his lap. For the first two hours, Sakura had simply ignored her two teammates, focusing on the kunai she kept spinning on her right index finger. But when the third hour of waiting began, the kunoichi had put her kunai away and returned to scrutinizing her teammates. The girl was about to ask Naruto and Sasuke what the hell they hoped to accomplish by meditating when Naruto's eyes snapped open and the blonde jinchuuriki swiftly rose to his feet, reaffixing his katana across his lower back.

Sakura quirked an eyebrow as Sasuke exhaled deeply and opened his eyes, Sharingan rotating intensely. "Did I miss the memo…? What's got you two all jittery?"

Naruto finished securing his katana and proceeded to tighten his gauntlets. "Kakashi-sensei is near."

"Okay, that explains the sudden attentiveness, but do you care to explain your little joint meditation exercise?"

"We were gathering and focusing our chakra," Sasuke answered as he too stood, rolling his shoulders and popping his neck, "when one is in a 'natural' state, chakra flow is at a minimum; our coils pump only what is necessary to sustain our base life functions, while the majority of our chakra is stored in our reserves, located near the stomach. When we are agitated or excited, our coils increase chakra flow based on the amount of adrenalin we have pumping through us at the time.

"It's a natural process that happens within everyone, but by focusing our chakra and manually stimulating our coils to increase the flow of chakra within our bodies, chakra itself is more readily available, saving time and energy by reducing the need to draw out chakra from our reserves because it is already flowing through our coils." Sasuke finished as Sakura nodded in appreciation.

"_I wish I would have thought of that…"_

"Basically, we're getting ready to fuck someone's shit up!" Naruto explained, holding his hand up to Sasuke for a high-five, and _obviously_ forgetting that Sakura did _not_ require layman's terms.

The high-five, much to Naruto's disappointment, was not returned by the Uchiha.

"And who's 'shit' are you preparing to 'fuck,' Naruto?"

Team 7 turned to find their sensei standing on the middle of the three training posts, hand raised in mid-wave.

"Yo."

"You're a little late, Kakashi-sensei…" Sakura deadpanned.

The jonin chuckled as he removed a pair of brass bells, tossing one to Sakura, the other to Sasuke. "Well, a little old lady dropped her groceries, and, as I was watching her produce roll away from her, I suddenly remembered that I myself was out of milk! I then proceeded to rectify this by visiting my local grocer. Had it not been for that old lady, I might have been forced to go the day without dairy!

"Let this be a lesson to you, students: we should treasure the elderly, for they are wise." The copy-nin finished sagely, throwing in a nod for added emphasis.

"Did you even bother to help the old lady, Sensei?"

"Sakura, I was out of milk, my calcium levels are of paramount importance to me!"

Kakashi chuckled inwardly as his students looked at him like he was a madman, children were so easy sometimes.

"Are you even a real ninja? Or is this some kind of stupid joke?" Sasuke asked, killing intent barely restrained.

As Kakashi removed a scroll and unsealed a large timer and set it for five o' clock, he allowed himself an audible chuckle. "I suppose we'll find out soon enough, Sasuke. Now, I've given two of you a bell. I want you to think of those bells as your 'golden ticket,' whoever has one when the alarm goes off, gets to keep being a ninja… I'll also treat you to dinner as an added bonus."

"But sensei, I didn't get a bell…"

Kakashi grinned under his mask as he ruffled Naruto's hair, much to the jinchuuriki's annoyance. "That, Naruto, is the twist! Whoever doesn't have a bell when five rolls around gets to go back to the Academy! You see, you can take the bells from each other, as can I, so I advise you to plan accordingly."

"So Sakura and I just have to avoid you and Naruto to pass?" the Uchiha questioned.

"I suppose, or Sakura could take your bell so she'll have a spare when I catch up to her…"

Sasuke stiffened, but pressed on and raised another question.

"What if we kill each other?"

It was at that moment that Kakashi understood why the Sandaime feared what these three could become. They had power, the jonin had watched Naruto and Sasuke focus their chakra, an advanced technique for genin, and they had the right mindset. All three were damaged, quite severely, but when the Uchiha had made his statement Kakashi had seen "it." When Sasuke spoke, his features glazed over with cold, unfeeling dedication to his goal; emotion, concern for others, and concern for his health were cast aside.

Sakura had at least looked uneasy, but her eyes told a different story. Bright green had suddenly dimmed, only to be relit with unwavering determination to succeed. Kakashi knew that those were the eyes of someone who fought for something greater than what you were, the eyes of someone tied to the past.

Then there was Naruto. The boy had hidden his reaction well, but Kakashi was more perceptive than most, and for one brief second, the eager gleam in Naruto's blue eyes coupled with the stretched cloth of his mask—an indicator of the predatory grin that he couldn't quite hide—had screamed out at Kakashi.

_Killer_.

"I'd prefer if you didn't kill each other—it'll mean more paperwork for everyone—but feel free to come at me with all you've got should it become necessary to defend your bell." Kakashi answered, pushing his negative thoughts aside. The jonin checked to see if his students were ready before raising his hand. "Begin!"

Immediately, Sakura and Sasuke took off in opposite directions, eager to put as much distance between themselves and Kakashi. Naruto, however, just stood there.

"_Hmm," _Kakashi mused as he pulled out an orange book from his hip pouch and flipped it open, _"maybe he's figured it out? He'd be the first…"_

Naruto's brow raised slightly when he saw his teacher pull out his book, the jinchuuriki wasn't a hundred percent sure what was going on, but Naruto had a suspicious feeling that not everything was as it seems…

"_If he's really a jonin, then it would be no challenge at all for him to track the other two down and take their bells… so what is it that he's playing at…?"_

"You'll never get a bell by just standing there, Naruto…" Kakashi remarked after fifteen minutes of having Naruto silently scrutinize him.

The blonde started, causing Kakashi to chuckle. "Well, eventually you'll go find Sasuke and Sakura to take their bells. The way I see it, I don't really have to do anything until you do something, Sensei." Naruto answered, words conveying his hypothesis. _"I'm on to you…"_

"I suppose so," the copy-nin answered, idly turning a page in his book, "but what makes you think I haven't already taken their bells?" _"Good for you, but I'm still two steps ahead."_

Naruto blinked. "That's impossible, we've been standing here the whole time; I would have seen you leave!"

"What makes you think I'm me?" Kakashi asked, turning yet another page.

The genin shook his head; his current line of action was getting him nowhere fast. "Well, there's always one way to find out…" Naruto muttered, drawing his sword out in the process.

The jonin sighed and put his book away, for a minute it looked as if Naruto was going to figure it all out. _"Genin are so predictable…"_ "Kenjutsu, eh? Wow… it's been awhile." Kakashi reached into his vest and removed a scroll, biting his finger and smearing blood across its seal.

"That's it!?" Naruto exclaimed, dumbfounded. When he saw the containment scroll, Naruto had assumed Kakashi was summoning his ANBU katana; the swords were finely crafted, but were still nothing compared to the Ebony Blade. But instead, Kakashi had only summoned a small tanto—a broken one—that was held in a tubular sheath.

"Appearance isn't everything, Naruto," Kakashi cautioned as he tested various grips on the tiny blade, "this little guy was once feared by shinobi far and wide."

Naruto snorted and raised his own weapon. "I find that hard to believe, Kakashi-sensei. Why would anyone be afraid of that miserable little thing?"

"Why don't you come and find out, Naruto?"

With a snarl, Naruto launched forward, preparing for a downward swing that would cleave Kakashi in half– if there was one thing Naruto hated, it was being brushed aside.

So, imagine the blonde jinchuuriki's anger when Kakashi lazily brought his tanto up, deflecting Naruto's swing much like someone batting away a bothersome mosquito.

"It seems you're lacking a little power in your swings, Naruto. Perhaps you should switch to a lower stance?"

"Perhaps you should shut the fuck up!" Naruto shouted, twisting and pivoting for a horizontal swing at Kakashi's neck.

Remaining a few steps ahead of his enraged student, Kakashi easily swung his tanto into position before Naruto's blade could lop his head off. "That's perhaps you should shut the fuck up, _Kakashi-sensei_, Naruto. Genin should never forget decorum."

"ARGH!"

Naruto pulled his blade back and held it in a reverse-grip, the blade's edge kicking up dirt as he dragged it low to the ground. Kakashi readied his tanto but was thrown off when his student rolled forward past him, bringing his katana around to cut at the back of Kakashi's knees.

The silver-haired jonin reacted in an instant, jumping over Naruto's blade and causing his swing to carry further than the blonde had intended. As the genin's swing continued to follow through, Kakashi caught Naruto's left wrist and twisted, forcing the edge of Naruto's own katana against his throat.

"Shinobi are trained to keep their emotions in check for a reason, Naruto." Kakashi critiqued before releasing the blonde.

Naruto stumbled forward, panting hard. "You think… you think that's all I can do… Sensei?" The boy asked, readying his sword.

"Actually, Naruto, I _know_ you can do more. The problem, however, is that it won't be enough to matter." Kakashi replied idly, readying his tanto once more.

The genin's eyes narrowed dangerously as he gripped his katana tighter. "I think it's time I show _you_ why my blade is legend, why the ninja world once feared the sting of the Ebony Blade." Naruto hissed before focusing his chakra and feeding it to the blade, causing black flames to spring to life and lick at the katana's edge.

With a feral shout, the young jinchuuriki charged towards his mildly surprised teacher, his katana crackling with tainted chakra.

Naruto grinned as he barreled towards his unsuspecting sensei; no matter how skilled Kakashi actually was, the chances of him being prepared for the Ebony Blade's abilities were very small.

Then it happened.

In the blink of an eye, his sensei snapped into action, bringing his tanto down in a blazing arc of blinding white light. Naruto skidded to a halt, kicking up blades of grass and particles of dirt, when Kakashi brought his tanto down; causing sparks to fly when the blades met. For awhile Naruto could do nothing but watch as the black flames pitifully attempted to overtake the foreign chakra before they shied away from the tanto's white chakra, receding into the Ebony Blade completely.

The jinchuuriki's eyes widened in fear as the familiar sense of being trapped and completely overwhelmed returned, a feeling not felt since the night in the alley six years ago.

"You seem a little surprised, Naruto-kun," Kakashi remarked as he used his strength to slowly force Naruto to his knees, "Don't tell me you thought your katana was the only one of its kind?" The jonin questioned, exerting more force on his weapon, causing Naruto to grunt under the strain while the white tanto continued to hum with power.

"I'll admit your forms are quite impressive, and your moves are somewhat… unorthodox, but your ability to adapt to a superior opponent is severely lacking. You can't assume that your skill alone will best opponents; in the ninja world you will constantly find yourself squared off with people much stronger than you.

"If you don't learn to adapt to those situations, I'm afraid you'll wind up nothing more than human litter strewn about on the battlefield." Kakashi finished, eye curving in that infuriating smile once more.

"W-what… what is that thing!?" Naruto ground out, as he struggled futilely against his sensei.

"The Hakkou Chakura To?" Kakashi asked in a tone one would use to discuss the weather, "It's just a little something that's been passed on to me by my father…" The jonin's elaboration stopped there as he looked down at his defeated student in contemplation. "Well, it looks like you won't be getting a bell after all, Naruto… kind of a pity, really; you might've made a good–"

Kakashi paused when Naruto looked up at him, his mask barely concealing the sadistic grin that marred his features.

"And you might have made a good teacher…"

Naruto watched in satisfaction from his position in the treetops as his shadow clone exploded, swallowing his sensei in the raging inferno and transferring its memories to the original Naruto.

"Hmmm… Kakashi-sensei sure got that bunshin riled up," Naruto remarked after sorting through the clone's memories, "It was a good strategy, though. I'll definitely have to be on guard for that angle in the future…"

"You should always expect the unexpected, Naruto…"

The jinchuuriki froze as he felt the oppressive killing intent cascade over him, like a mighty tsunami sweeping past and devouring everything in its wake. Naruto swallowed and looked at his sensei, resisting the urge to shiver as a bead of sweat slowly traced its way down the side of his face.

"Bunshin Daibakuha… a good strategy, it shows that you're serious about this, but I'm afraid you're wholly outclassed." Kakashi explained, drawing out a kunai and taking a step towards Naruto.

The genin backed up, pressing his back flush to the tree's thick trunk, heart beating wildly in his chest as the killing intent increased and took hold of him.

"_Do something!" _Naruto berated himself mentally, struggling to regain control of his body. He knew what Kakashi was doing, shinobi—Naruto included—often used killing intent to mentally attack opponents, but having someone with more power than you could possibly imagine do it to you was an entirely different experience.

Naruto was helpless, and he knew it.

In a moment of desperation, Naruto flipped through a few seals, stopping on "tori," and raised his hand. "Futon: Dai–"

The jinchuuriki was cut off when Kakashi shunshin'd forward and pinned his hands to his chest.

"You forgot one thing, Naruto…"

"W-wh-what…?" Naruto chocked out as he strained against his sensei's iron grip.

To Naruto's horror, Kakashi smiled as he leaned in and whispered into his ear.

"Boom."

On instinct the blonde's eyes closed in preparation for the coming explosion that would surely kill him, a voice clawing at the back of his head, screaming of death, pain, and suffering.

Moments frozen in time once again turned into seconds and Naruto opened his eyes to find Kakashi smiling down at him, eye curled once more in that damn smile of his.

"Gotcha!" The clone said before it dissolved away in a poof of smoke, leaving Naruto to slide down into a sitting position against the tree's trunk, hands still clasped in the bird seal.

* * *

**A/N: **Been awhile, but here's the new chapter. I figured I was at a good stopping point, and so I took it. The next chapter will wrap up the exam and showcase Naruto's first assignment as an Assassin for the Brotherhood. I'd also like to thank everyone for all the great reviews and Community adds. You guys are the reason I keep writing. Now for fun time: anyone who guesses who Naruto's new contact is will get a little something. Perhaps an early chapter preview, or an omake, or something like that. Get it right, and we'll work something out. As always, I welcome all comments and questions. Also, the next chapter might be a bit delayed because I really need to pump out a new chapter for my other Naruto story, check it out, or don't, it's whatever.

**A/N2:** I, in no way, shape, or form, believe that women are inferior to men. The words spoken in this story are meant to keep the characters true to themselves, not to express my or anyone else's beliefs. Furthermore, drug use is not something I condemn or encourage. Such things are a personal decision to be made based on your own life style. Live your own life and let others live theirs.

**Thanks to Uzumaki200 for helping with beta work, and thanks to Grumpywinter for keeping me on track and listening to my incoherent ramblings. **


	5. Please Stand Up

**Chapter IV: Will the Real Naruto Namikaze Please Stand Up?**

_"__This Plague, this damned, bloody Plague… born of hate, raised in scorn, and tutored in deceit; the vile pestilence drifts forevermore on the shifting breeze as it glides on heroin wings– soft, feathered things that consume what they touch with the sweet whispers of broken promises. Remember, miserable fool, that you made it what it is– your hands did this. Your guilt, my guilt, it makes no difference– we have sinned and soon our Plague, our darling little Plague, will come for us, to destroy us, to make us repent. Soon… our little Plague will devour us all."

* * *

_

The rain and lightning thundered loudly as Kumaji marched towards the front door of his home, each drop pelting the aged oak of his dwelling, an extravagant building located in the heart of the Fuuma clan's main compound. For years Kumaji had toiled away through the day to day minutia that was life, betraying allies, slaughtering enemies, and empowering his clan, to get to where he was- head of the Fuuma clan.

"_It was all for nothing,"_ Kumaji thought as his captor opened the door and pushed him into the cold rain.

He was going to die tonight.

**

* * *

**

**15 Hours Ago…**

"Kill him."

"You know we can't do that, Sasuke… we tried."

"We should try harder," Sakura added, massaging her backside.

Naruto was thankful for the mask hiding his grin at Sakura's suffering; friend or not, watching Kakashi send her flying through the air with his finger "technique" was a memory he would treasure always. However, a small amount of killing intent caught the blonde's attention and brought him out of his musings.

"I can feel that shit-eating grin hiding behind that stupid mask, you idiot. And if you value your 'analginity,' you'll forget what you saw and never bring this up again…" Sakura threatened, brandishing a kunai for added emphasis.

Naruto shuddered slightly before steering the conversation back towards disgustingly overpowered jonin and how to stop them, and away from the forceful taking of other's analginities. "Look, I'm pretty sure I have a plan that could stop him, and get us those bells, but we're gonna have to work together if we want it to work."

"And you plan to address the fact that there are only two bells how?" Sasuke asked.

"And 'keen points' to the Sharingan user for spotting the elephant in the room! Good catch, Sasuke-chan! What would we ever do without you?"

"NARUTO! Get on with whatever it is you've got to say; every minute we waste on your shitty jokes is a minute Kakashi-sensei gets closer to finding us!" Sakura shouted, the pain in her rear making her rather… irritable. "That asshole used two fingers…"

"Calm down, don't get your panties in a knot, jeez. Anyway, before I was interrupted, I was about to address the inequality of numbers currently befalling our team: fuck it."

After a few seconds of silent staring, Naruto decided to elaborate for his teammates.

"Look, I think we can all agree that it's obvious something's up; no one in their right mind would expect three genin to overcome a jonin, especially one like Kakashi. There's some other angle that we aren't seeing– some kind of hidden meaning behind all of this."

Sasuke and Sakura nodded before the pinkette spoke up. "And if there isn't?"

Naruto shrugged as he drew his katana and began drawing out a plan in the dirt. "We still need the bells… we can kill each other after we get 'em."

* * *

Kakashi sighed, snapping his book closed and putting it back into his vest, when he saw Sasuke walk out from behind a line of trees encircling the small clearing he currently occupied.

"I'd been wondering when you were going to show up, Sasuke. Think you've got a good strate-"

The copy-nin stopped abruptly and dropped into a defensive stance when he saw the genin hopeful flash through a string of seals.

"Katon: Kasumi Endu no Jutsu!" Sasuke shouted before spewing a foul-smelling mist that raced towards Kakashi from his mouth.

"_Hmm… seems like someone's been studying the Uchiha Katon scrolls… but still, he should know it won't work with out an ignition…"_ Kakashi's thoughts trailed off as he watched a kunai imbed itself in the ground before his feet, a second Sasuke smirking at him from his perch in the trees as he placed his hands in the "ram" seal.

"Kai."

The clearing erupted in a blaze of fire as the exploding kunai blew, igniting the flammable gas provided by the first Sasuke. The whole affair provided Kakashi with quite the show from his tree on the opposite side of the clearing- shunshin was a damn fine jutsu to know when in a pinch.

The jonin made use of the jutsu one more time to teleport back to the middle of the clearing, his lone visible eye carefully scanning for Sasuke and his shadow clone. A tiny movement caught his attention, causing Kakashi to snap his head in its direction just in time to see the two Sasukes burst through the wall of smoke and dying flames.

Taking a guess, Kakashi picked the Sasuke on his left and shot forward, driving his knee into the young teen's gut, effectively halting his advance. The copy-nin followed up with a bruising uppercut that sent Sasuke staggering backwards, until Kakashi shunshin'd behind him, driving his elbow into the back of the boy's skull with a resounding "crack."

Placing a foot on top of Sasuke to keep him immobilized, the masked jonin turned towards the sound of approaching footsteps to see what he presumed was Sasuke's shadow clone running at him, a fistful of shuriken held in each hand. Kakashi mentally sighed as he watched the clone charge head on, an act that usually left one dead on the battlefield; such actions were _not_ acceptable and best reprimanded sooner, rather than later.

And when one wanted to make an important point, it was best to engrave it into the other person's mind; genin, despite how much they claimed otherwise, were disturbingly similar to children.

And, like naughty children, they needed a good spanking every once in awhile.

Kakashi smirked as he recalled a bit of information he gleaned from reading up on Sasuke's "Sharingan Madness." The jonin deduced that a specific, often overlooked, E-ranked jutsu would do the trick; even if it wasn't actually Sasuke, the shadow clone's memory transfer capabilities would ensure that the point got across.

Despite his Sharingan, Sasuke was unable to recognize the jutsu Kakashi was preparing, even as his dojutsu memorized the seals. Sticking to the plan, the young Uchiha continued his forward advancement, fingers tightening around his fistful of shuriken.

Kakashi smirked as he stopped on "bird" and raised his hands to his mouth. "Ninpou: Hinata!"

Sasuke paused as a tiny ball of light fluttered into existence from between Kakashi's thumbs and index fingers before gently floating forward.

It was then, that several things happened at once.

Sasuke's eyes widened comically as the Sharingan picked up the ungodly amount of chakra now flooding the tiny sphere of light just as it exploded, forming miniature burning sun that sent the Uchiha sprawling onto his back, screaming and clutching his bleeding eyes even as they continued to burn, liquefying and evaporating from the jutsu's intense heat and proximity.

Kakashi turned his head as a cry of "Sen'eijashu!" reached his ears, only to blink stupidly as the Sasuke below him was enveloped in a poof of smoke that revealed the lone kunoichi on his team, grinning devilishly at him as her snakes tightened their grip on him.

Fuckin' henge.

A soft whistling sound drew Kakashi's attention away from Sakura and to just behind the few remaining wisps of smoke left behind by Sasuke's departed kage bunshin. Kakashi's eye narrowed as the real Sasuke's shuriken wrapped around him, binding him even tighter with their attached ninja wire.

"I can only assume Naruto has some sort of grandiose part in this little plan…" Kakashi drawled as he struggled against his bonds.

"You know me too well, Kakashi-sensei!" The blond chirped, dropping down from the safety of the branches. "Now, I'll ask nicely, how 'bout you play nice and let us take those bells off your hands, hmm?"

The silver-haired nin tilted his head thoughtfully before replying. "Mmm… no. Why don't you try to take them, Naruto, and see what happens?"

Even as Naruto felt Kakashi drawing heavily on his chakra reserves, he couldn't help but smirk. "I was hoping you'd say that…"

Sakura and Sasuke looked on as their teammate sliced open his palm before flying through a set of seals and slamming the bloody appendage on the ground. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Everyone watched as web of runes snaked out from under Naruto's hand and a rather large puff of smoke appeared, signaling a successful summoning.

Kakashi paled when a violent roar tore through the clearing, dissipating the smoke and revealing a towering grizzly bear standing up on its hind legs. The jonin's keen eye quickly zeroed in on the razor-sharp claws attached to each of the bear's paws.

They were coated in what was clearly dried blood.

The copy-nin gulped as the bear gave one more feral roar before lurching forward and charging directly at him.

Naruto watched in satisfaction as Ken'ichi thundered forward, intent on "incapacitating" Kakashi. It really was a shame, the blonde jinchuuriki had no real desire to kill Kakashi, but the jonin was forcing his hand. He said that Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura needed to come at him with the intent to kill, and Naruto was going to adhere to that advice.

If it meant that one prideful jonin got his head wrenched from his shoulders and his brains splattered on the grass, then so be it.

However, before the young genin could begin pondering on whether or not he should give Sasuke or Sakura a bell--or simply kill them both--he felt an odd tugging sensation just as Ken'ichi brought his heavy paw up to slash at Kakashi's head.

It was then that everything went wrong for Naruto.

Horribly, horribly wrong.

As a competent shinobi, Naruto Uzumaki could say that he had used the kawarimi jutsu hundreds, if not thousands, of times. Any shinobi worth his salt was intimately familiar with the feel of bending an object to your will with chakra, and the sudden rush of speed that enveloped one as he or she switched places with the object of their choosing.

But that was not what Naruto felt; no, instead the young jinchuuriki felt the burning sensation of foreign chakra enveloping his frame before he was violently tugged, leaving him slightly disoriented and unable to process why he suddenly felt rather constricted.

Sasuke and Sakura hastened to loose their grip when they saw Naruto replace Kakashi in their trap, but it was too late. The two genin watched as the bear's mighty paw came down on Naruto's face, the animal being too committed in its motion to do anything but stop halfway through its strike by dismissing itself.

Sakura winced as she saw the bear's claws rip into Naruto's face, tearing away his mask, skin, and a few teeth in a bloody display of brutality that sent the formerly masked genin sprawling to the floor howling in pain.

"Shit!" Sasuke cursed as he and Sakura rushed towards their fallen teammate's side.

"Sasuke, hold him down!" Sakura cried as she began to withdraw the few field medical supplies she had on her person.

The Uchiha nodded and grabbed Naruto's hands, holding them away from his face to allow Sakura to do what she could.

The pinkette grimaced when she got a clear view of Naruto's injury. The bear had ripped away the majority of Naruto's left cheek, along with a trio of molars, leaving the left side of his mouth open to the world.

"FUCK!!!" Naruto howled in pain as Sakura began to use antiseptic to clean the blood away from the wound.

"Naruto, I know, but it has to happen! I need to stop the blooding and disinfect the wound before we take you to the hospital" Sakura urged, running what she hoped was a comforting hand through Naruto's hair.

"Fuckinggoddamnit- YOU!" The enraged genin roared when a tall form entered his periphery.

"Yo."

"Sensei!" Sakura cried, "Naruto needs help!"

"I'm sure he does, Sakura," Kakashi said, leaning down to inspect Naruto's disfigured face and noting that it was already slowly beginning to heal, "but I'm afraid he'll have to wait a few more minutes.

"Now," the jonin began, rubbing his hands together, "what has everybody learned from our little exercise?"

Kakashi sighed dramatically when he only received a pair of dumbfounded stares from Sakura and Sasuke.

Naruto just whimpered pitifully as he felt along his gums and discovered how many teeth he was missing.

* * *

"Look, I'm a powerful man, I can make you very wealthy…" Kumaji began, letting the offer hang in the air, "Whatever the Kedouin clan is paying you, I can triple it!"

"You know it doesn't work that way, Kumaji-san." His would-be killer replied softly.

"Is it worth it? Is Agari's _worthless _daughter worth starting a war over!? Will forcing the Fuuma clan to exterminate the whole lot of those-"

Kumaji stopped abruptly when his captor spun him around and placed a kunai at the corner of his mouth.

"Open."

The Fuuma clan head hesitated but quickly relented when the assassin began to cut into his cheek.

"Good," the black-clad specter complimented as he withdrew a small seal tag, the red edges identifying it as an explosive one, "Now, I'm sure you know what this is, yes?"

His answer was a frantic nod of Kumaji's head.

"Excellent," his captor said before placing the tag on Kumaji's tongue and closing his mouth gently, "You hold onto that for me. And as for your other question… well, I suppose the real question _you'll_ have to ask yourself is 'was it worth it to _you_?' Were the pleasures of soft, unspoiled flesh worth the lives of so many?" Kumaji squeaked pitifully when his captor suddenly grabbed him by the throat and drew him in close. "When I finally kill you, and end your pathetic _fucking_ existence, you depraved, child-raping pedophile, you'll have to ask yourself, _was it all worth it_?"

"But," the assassin interrupted as he nodded to himself and withdrew a small sealing scroll, "We have some work to do before that…"

Kumaji only looked at him blankly when he unsealed a small, worn shovel from the scroll and tossed it at the condemned man's feet.

"Dig."

* * *

**10 Hours Ago…**

Teamwork.

Even now, as he walked through the crowded streets of Konoha after leaving the hospital, that word continued to infuriate him. "Teamwork" was the all important lesson because, apparently, "those that abandon their friends are worse than scum."

That lesson had cost Naruto half of his fucking face.

But it was a lesson that Naruto respected Kakashi greatly for.

For all of his faults, shortcomings, and failures, Naruto had one bright spot, one inherently _good_ quality, that shone through the polluted, blood-soaked miasma that was his existence.

Loyalty.

Naruto might have been a killer--one who clearly enjoyed the act, even--but that didn't mean he wasn't loyal.

Look out for those looking out for you- a simple rule to live by.

Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto were Team 7 now, Kakashi's Team 7, and the cycloptic jonin wanted them to understand just how important it was that they all work together to survive out in the field. Years of war and combat had taught Kakashi that shinobi that fight _together_ come back home together.

A valuable lesson, indeed, but Naruto still couldn't shake the nagging sensation at the back of his head that insisted there was more to it. There were a million and one ways for a jonin of Kakashi's caliber to teach fresh genin lessons like that, and million of those ways _didn't_ involve humiliating and beating the shit out of said genin.

And, yet, Kakashi Hatake had picked "B" when everyone else would have chosen "A" and moved on. In a world where left is right, the man had opted to move forward instead.

Then, as Naruto continued to his destination, it hit him. That was why Kakashi's name was the talk of legends, almost on par with the sannin. Kakashi would be forever remembered because he not only dared to go against the grain, but he succeeded as well. Whatever grand scheme Kakashi was plotting, Naruto would go along with. It was now painfully clear that Kakashi possessed enough experience, skill, and wisdom to allow Naruto to defer to his ways.

Unfortunately, Kakashi possessed enough experience, skill, and wisdom to make him a threat, and threats were problems that needed to be dealt with swiftly.

But, before the jinchuuriki could decide on how to best make it look like an "accident," he found himself at his destination.

Upon reaching that conclusion, his eyes widened comically as he double-checked the address given to him by Tetsuo; it checked out.

"_Damn…"_

Naruto sighed as he turned to one of the stoic guards and stepped forward for admittance. The man nodded to him before ushering him inside the walled-off compound.

"Hiashi-sama is expecting you, Uzumaki-san."

* * *

She was on the verge of a panic attack, her hands were shaking so badly she could hardly hold her brush steady as she attempted to tame her hair in an effort to appear presentable in front of her father.

Why did this have to happen today? After spending hours in training ground 17 with her teammates and sensei, the last thing Hinata needed now was more stress. It was bad enough that her father had _personally_ requested Naruto's presence, but to go so far as to throw a clan banquet showed that her father knew much more than he was letting on.

The whole situation _reeked_ of politics; clearly her father believed that pulling Naruto into the Hyuga clan's sphere of influence would benefit the clan as a whole.

The thought of Naruto becoming her father's pawn disturbed her greatly.

Wringing her wrists in distress, Hinata attempted to banish her feelings of nervousness before she hurried over to her closet to put on the formal kimono reserved for occasions such as the one she was currently facing.

Running her small fingers over the delicate silk, Hinata couldn't help but sigh and calm down to some degree; the beautiful kimono had once belonged to her mother, and she knew for a fact that the late Hyuga matron had once used it to catch the eye of the then young Hiashi Hyuga.

Maybe, just maybe, she could use it to catch Naruto's eye…

The timid girl flushed prettily, before she disrobed and slid the silken garment over her frame, tying it closed with a matching obi from her own collection. After smoothing out a few nonexistent wrinkles, Hinata began making her way to the room she knew her father would use for his meeting with Naruto. As heiress, it would be her job to serve the two of them tea, a practice that had long since been ingrained into her being.

Serving tea was now as natural as seeing in every direction at once.

Hinata allowed herself a small chuckle as the double meaning of her thoughts caught up with her.

Natural, indeed.

The young kunoichi rounded the corner and entered a room used by many Branch members for tea preparation. Hinata was relieved to see that the majority of her work had been handled already, all that remained for her was to arrange the serving tray and take it to Naruto and her father.

Recalling years of practice, her nimble hands quickly arranged the tray to her liking before she picked it up, her clothed feet quietly ghosting across the varnished wood of the building's halls.

Stopping in front of the door, Hinata took a calming breath before sliding it open, bowing demurely as she stepped inside.

"Hinata," her father greeted.

"Otou-sama, Naruto-kun…" She returned, kneeling down and placing the tea tray on the small, raised platform between Naruto and her father. A quick glance at Naruto piqued her curiosity; the normally black-clad boy, was sporting a fresh set of medical bandages in place of his usual mask.

"Thank you, Hinata-sama…" the blonde muttered, taking the offered cup of tea while Hiashi did the same.

"Now, I am sure you are curious as to why I've called you here, yes?"

"Correct, Hiashi-sama." Naruto replied, placing his untouched tea back on the table.

"I will be frank, then. My daughter's performance in the Academy was not what I've come to expect from my children. When my eldest can no longer defeat her sister--a sister five years her junior--then I am faced with a problem." Hiashi began, ignoring Hinata's involuntary flinch at the mention of her shortcomings, "Hinata is supposed to be the next leader of this clan, but I can no longer guarantee that. The Elders continue to bray loudly in my ears, every chance they get; 'weak,' they whisper in my ears."

Hiashi chanced a glance at his eldest, her head was bowed in shame, avoiding eye contact with anyone in the room.

The clan head sighed. "There is only one fate that awaits those that are deemed 'weak,' Naruto-san. And that is where you come in; I have reviewed your academy records, and taken your relationship with my daughter into account and have come to the conclusion that your wide array of skills make you the best candidate for what I am about to propose."

Naruto quirked an eyebrow. "And what is that, Hiashi-sama?"

"I would like you to tutor my daughter, so that when she is to be presented to the Elder Council, they will feel confident in her skills and permit her to remain as my heir."

Naruto ignored Hinata's shocked gasp and relayed the response he and Hiashi had planned before her arrival. "I will do as you ask, Hiashi-sama. When I am not occupied with my duties to the village, I will tutor Hinata-sama in private as you have requested. I assure you, the council will find her acceptable as heiress to the clan."

Hiashi nodded in thanks. "Thank you, Naruto-san. Hinata," Hiashi snapped, causing the girl to start, eyes going wide in surprise, "see to it that a guest room is prepared for your new sensei to bathe and change in, and have the servants bring him some suitable attire for the banquet."

"Hai!" Hinata said, rising swiftly and bowing before scurrying off to honor her father's requests.

Hiashi watched her leave, before leveling his gaze at Naruto. "You did well, Uzumaki-san. Now no one will have reason for suspicion when you drop by to pick up new contracts."

The jinchuuriki nodded. "But what happens when people start asking why you are allowing your eldest daughter to be subjected to the tutelage of the Kyuubi?"

The clan head smirked before sipping his tea and setting it down. "Why do you think the Brotherhood values my services so much? People do not question the actions of the Hyuga, they simply accept what we do as finality- if I wish for my daughter to be tutored by the Kyuubi, then they will accept it because they know I have the power to do it."

"And what about Hinata? What if she grows suspicious?"

Hiashi allowed a rare laugh to escape him, it was sound that lacked any real humor. "Hinata? She is far too blinded to even begin discerning her sudden wave of good fortune. All she registers is that she will be spending more time with you- it might even encourage her to actually improve in her skills."

"And if it doesn't?"

The Hyuga head shrugged. "Then she will be sealed into the Branch family and Hanabi will take her place."

Naruto felt his hand clench at Hiashi's callousness to his own daughter. "I see…"

"Now, I must prepare for the coming banquet, your associates will be here shortly to discuss the mission you will be undertaking later tonight."

"I have one last question, Hiashi-sama." Naruto began as he rose to his feet.

The Hyuga paused at the doorway and turned around. "Yes?"

"I understand the need for secrecy, and I understand your role in the Brotherhood, but one thing escapes me…"

"And what is that, Naruto-san?"

"Why are you throwing this banquet, in terms of an alibi, it's overkill, don't you think?"

"It is customary for one clan head to honor another when he visits his home for the first time- I suggest you see the Hokage when you have the time to discuss your parentage further. Now, I must go, Anko-san and Tetsuo-san will be along shortly to brief you before you go prepare for dinner."

Naruto could only watch in silence as the clan leader's form disappeared behind the screen door.

* * *

"That's big enough, Kumaji-san."

Said captive promptly stopped digging and surveyed his work.

Kumaji felt the pit of his stomach drop when he saw the size of the grave he had dug- it was obviously meant for more than one person.

The assassin helped Kumaji out of the grave before placing him on his knees at the edge of the grave. Kumaji felt himself begin to sweat despite the rain when his captor tied his hands behind his back and removed the explosive tag from his mouth.

No sooner than the paper had left his tongue, Kumaji began to beg.

"Please… you don't have to do this! We can work something out- anything you want, name it and it's yours!"

The assassin sighed and turned Kumaji around to face him. "Do you know why you are here, Kumaji-san?"

The condemned man nodded, mumbling under his breath.

The masked assassin yanked him forward, holding a kunai to his neck. "I didn't hear you."

"I said b-because of what we d-did to Manami Kedouin…"

The assassin nodded. "And what did you do to Manami-chan, what did you and your brother do to Agari's daughter?"

Kumaji knew he was crying, he could feel his warm salty tears contrasting horribly with the rain water splattering against his face; each warm drop burning its way down his cheeks as he was forced to relieve the decision that had landed him in this situation in the first place.

"WHAT DID YOU DO!?" His captor roared, violently shaking Kumaji from his thoughts.

"W-w-we punished her to send a message to Agari, to warn the rest of the Kedouin clan to stop encroaching on our territory-"

"'Punished?'" The black-clad shinobi repeated, "You consider what you did to Manami punishment? No, Kumaji-san, that wasn't punishment, and you know it. What did you _really_ do?"

Kumaji swallowed, the saliva felt like rocks sliding down his gullet. "W-we raped-"

"That's right, Kumaji-san! You raped her!" The assassin pulled Kumaji closer before driving his kunai into the weeping man's side. "You penetrated her, just like my blade is penetrating you. You and your brother kidnapped that poor girl, beat her, molested her, and raped her… AGAIN, and AGAIN, and AGAIN!" The shinobi shouted, punctuating each "again" with a stab to Kumaji's gut.

Naruto wrenched his blade free from Kumaji's stomach, causing a trickle of blood to splatter onto the soaked ground. "I understand what you did, I really do. You needed to upset the order, go against the grain and remove the Kedouin clan's influence in this area. But in your _noble_ undertaking, you went astray and turned your cause into an opportunity for you and your worthless brother to get your dicks wet.

"Believe me when I say your actions disgust me, you selfish pig- and that's coming from someone who kills, and enjoys it, for a living. I can appreciate the need for chaos, the want to spread anarchy and disorder, but I can't condone a pair of fucktards wandering about looking for a hole to put their dicks in."

The blonde jinchuuriki reached into his pocket and withdrew a single violet petal. "A wise leader would have known this, but instead you and your brother raped that poor girl and stirred up the fucking hornets' nest," Naruto chided as he placed the nightshade petal on Kumaji's tongue. "And because of that, shit's gonna burn. This isn't some simple assassination, the Kedouins want blood- this is declaration of war.

"You pushed those people to the point of turning to _us_. They want war, even though they know they can't possibly win. No, all they want is to see as many of your people die in puddles of their own blood as possible. Because of your selfish actions, the Kedouin clan will soon be a thing of the past, and the Fuuma clan will feel the backlash of your decisions for generations to come."

Naruto stood, and swiftly kicked the dying clan head into the freshly dug grave before turning to the two approaching people. "Did you get them all?"

Tetsuo grunted as he adjusted the two tied prisoners on his back. "I got the daughter and the wife, Anko got the brother."

"Look out below!" Anko called as she slit her prisoner's throat and dropped him next to Kumaji. "That one put up a bit of a fight!"

Naruto grinned as he watched Tetsuo impale Kumaji's wife on his sword before unceremoniously kicking her over the grave's edge. "She cooperated," he remarked, wiping the pearly white blade on his sleeve, "once I got a hold of her," the older genin remarked, jerking his thumb towards Kumaji's daughter.

The masked shinobi nodded and walked over to the girl. Her eyes widened in fear even as fresh tears spilled down her cheeks. Naruto picked her up and carried to the edge of the family grave, kneeling her down in front of it.

The poor girl began to shake violently with fresh sobs when her eyes focused in on the bodies of her dead family members.

"Do not fear, child," Naruto began, placing his hands on her head in a soothing manner, "for you will find solace in the Night Mother's loving embrace… go to her."

Kumaji heard a loud crack before his daughter's falling body entered his vision as she tumbled to the ground next to her mother.

It was the last thing he saw before the darkness claimed him.

* * *

**Seven Hours Ago…**

Naruto sat on Hinata's bed patiently as he waited for her to return with a fresh set of bandages; eating had reopened a few of his many cuts causing blood to seep through his old ones.

The blonde took another swig of the sake he pilfered from the Hyuga dinning room, and winced as half of it dribbled out of the open wound.

"Fuckin' kawarimi…"

To make matters worse, Tetsuo and Anko were running late and had yet to show up.

At least the food the Hyuga served was good.

Shaking his head, Naruto took another sloppy swig just as Hinata entered her room.

"Naruto-kun! You shouldn't be drinking that, you aren't old enough!"

Naruto chuckled as he drained the bottle of its last few drops. "Being a shinobi means we can drink, Hinata-chan," He pointed out.

The girl frowned before walking forward and taking the empty bottle away. "But that doesn't mean you should…"

The blonde shrugged, watching the kunoichi prepare her supplies. "We agree to disagree, I suppose."

Hinata sighed as she went about soaking one side of the bandages in an ointment designed to fight off infections. The heiress could once again breath easy knowing that the dinner hadn't been an entire fiasco.

Naruto, for the most part, had behaved and gotten along with the clan members in attendance.

"Your sister's kind of a little bitch, you know."

_Most_ of those in attendance.

"Please don't refer to Hanabi-chan that way, Naruto-kun; she can't help it at her age. The elder's have been given far too much sway over her upbringing- she didn't have the benefit of being raised by Kaa-san…"

Naruto ignored the fact that that was probably why Hanabi was currently being groomed to be the next heiress while Hinata had been placed under his "tutelage."

"You have my apologies, Hinata-chan," Naruto amended, his voice growing muffled as Hinata began wrapping the bandages around his face.

"I-it's okay, Naruto-kun. Just try to relax while I finish wrapping the bandages."

"So, excited for your first missions tomorrow? I'd imagine that being on a team with Shino and Kiba would land you some pretty good assassination missions in the future…"

Hinata gulped. "Assassination…?"

"Yeah, you know, that thing where they pay you to kill someone."

"I-I…"

"Not looking forward to it?"

Hinata finished wrapping the bandages and sighed sadly. "No…" She whispered.

"Ah."

The heiress looked at he crush. "Are _you_ looking forward to it, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto grinned behind his bandages. "Of course. You know that the Kyuubi loves killing!"

Naruto's offhand remark about his recently revealed status as a jinchuuriki made Hinata frown. "You aren't the Kyuubi, Naruto-kun, just its jailor."

Said jinchuuriki laughed dryly. When Hinata had cornered him and asked him about the incident with Mizuki, he had, in a rare act of complete honesty, told his best friend about his jinchuuriki status. And, naturally, the young girl had shed a few tears on his behalf before adamantly claiming he was _not_ a monster.

That was Hinata for you, compassionate, understanding, and predictable.

"You know it doesn't work that way, Sunshine, not when it comes to the villagers. They don't care about the scroll you seal a kunai into- all that really matters to them is the kunai. The scroll is expendable, and easily replaced, but the kunai holds the real power. The only difference is that I'm a scroll who knows the value of its kunai… and I can summon bears, too."

That made Hinata giggle. "I haven't seen Kokoro-chan in ages…"

Naruto sighed as he formed the seals. "The things I do for you… Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

A small puff of smoke signaled the arrival of Kokoro, a small panda bear, who instantly leapt into Hinata's lap, licking her face eagerly.

Naruto watched in amusement as Hinata ran her delicate fingers through the bear's thick fur, before rolling it onto its back and tickling his belly.

"I highly doubt an evil, destructive demon would care enough about my happiness to go so far as to summon a cute, cuddly bear for me, Naruto-kun."

"Maybe it's all an act, Hinata-chan; I never said I was a sloppy psycho killer…"

The Hyuga rolled her eyes. "No matter how much you say those things, I know they're not true."

Naruto grinned as he poked Hinata playfully in her side, causing the small girl to yelp and spasm. "Don't touch me, I'm a real live wire! You should run, Hinata! Fa-fa-fa-fa-far away!"

Hinata banished her blush before regarding Naruto speculatively. "Where did that come from?"

Another shrug. "Heard it in a song once, kinda catchy."

"Oh…"

The jinchuuriki looked around Hinata's room, nervously now that the dreaded awkward silence had be fallen them. It was a standard bedroom, four walls, bed, dresser, desk, door leading to bathroom, and a rather large closet. Naruto's eyes zeroed in on the several items decorating Hinata's dresser. He saw several small keepsakes of unknown origin, including what appeared to be a diary and several dried and pressed flowers. His eyes moved onto the trio of photographs Hinata had had framed. Naruto saw himself, along with Hinata, standing under the tree located behind the Academy; the shy girl blushing madly as she held onto him.

"_Her twelfth birthday… this was right after I gave her my present."_

Naruto allowed himself a hidden smile before moving onto the next picture. The photograph showed a five-year old Hinata clinging to Hiashi's robes while they stood next to a pretty woman holding an infant Naruto assumed was Hanabi.

Finally there was an official Team 8 photograph that showed a scowling Shino, a blushing Hinata, a grinning Kiba holding up Akamaru, and Hinata's jonin sensei, Kurenai Yuuhi.

The blonde sighed and withdrew a small book from his kimono. One of the benefits of such attire was the ability to hide many things without arousing suspicion; as such, Naruto was able to store several of his more "valued" possessions on his person, rather that leaving them with his dirty clothes in his "guest" room.

Flipping to a specific page, Naruto read over the jutsu before nodding and walking over to Hinata's window.

"Follow me."

Hinata nodded and rose to follow Naruto outside to one of the compound's private gardens.

Coming to a small clearing that would provide Naruto with plenty of room to work, the Jinchuuriki stopped and quickly summoned a shadow clone.

"Alright, Hinata, since I'm your new 'sensei,' I figure I might as well start teaching you something. So watch carefully," the blonde instructed before flipping through a few seals and saying, "Raiton: Jibashi!"

Electricity crackled to life along Naruto's hands before he slammed his palm into the clone's head, causing it to convulse violently for a few seconds before poofing out of existence.

Hinata gulped nervously when Naruto looked at her expectantly.

"Your turn," he said, summoning another clone that walked over until it was standing in front of her.

The Hyuga princess nodded shakily before going through the seals and muttering the correct words. "Raiton: Jibashi!" Hinata jabbed the clone in the chest with her right index and middle fingers as a spark of electricity left her tenketsu.

Instead of exploding, the clone merely went rigid for a few seconds before Naruto dispelled it with a chop to the neck.

"I-I'm sorry, Naruto-kun…" Hinata began, shame creeping into her voice. The very thought of failing Naruto nearly bringing the girl to tears.

"It's alright, Hinata. Jibashi is an assassination technique that requires a lot of chakra to produce fatal results. However, it also has another use: paralysis. Even with just the minimal chakra expenditure, you can generate enough electricity to leave an opponent stunned for a few brief seconds," Naruto explained, "And in the shinobi world, a few seconds can be the difference between life and death.

"Furthermore, if your opponents can't move, then they can't stop you from, say… rupturing their heart, or liquefying their brain with a well placed Juuken strike."

"O-or I could incapacitate them with it…"

Naruto ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "Hinata, you can't afford to think like that! Shinobi fight to kill, not incapacitate. The man who first said it takes far more skill to defeat your opponent rather than kill him was probably shocked when his 'opponent' got back up and stabbed him in the back!

"Beyond those walls," Naruto continued, pointing to Konoha's Southern gate, "there is no mercy. They will kill you and not think twice- and that's if you're lucky."

"N-Naruto-kun, I'm not a killer like-"

"Like me, right? Do you think sparing lives makes you better than me, you think your morality will see you through to retirement?"

Hinata gasped. "That isn't what I meant, I-"

Naruto cut her off by taking a menacing step forward. "But it's what you _thought_, isn't it? Do you not see, Hinata- this is why your father thinks you are weak!" The jinchuuriki snarled, words pouring from his mouth like venom, "I suggest you rethink your position on the matter unless you want to end up wearing your hitai-ite on your head to cover your new seal!"

He couldn't stop himself. No matter how much he willed himself, he couldn't stop yelling at her. Even now, as he watched her sobbing form retreat into the safety of her home, he couldn't muster up the strength to call out to her.

He had hurt her.

Naruto had _enjoyed _it.

The jinchuuriki shook his head and gasped in pain when a sharp spike of pain erupted into a migraine. "Fuck… what the hell's going on with me…?"

"Talking to yourself obviously means you're bat-shit crazy, fuck-twat."

The genin grabbed his head in frustration; why was life shitting on him so?

"Took you long enough, where's Anko?"

"Yo," the kunoichi in question answered, tossing a bag at Naruto's feet, "We gathered your gear. Get dressed and we'll fill you in."

Naruto nodded in thanks as he grabbed the bag and walked behind a tree to preserve his modesty.

"Our targets are Kumaji Fuuma, Yuuna Fuuma, their daughter Manami, and Kumaji's brother Saburo." Anko explained.

"Ages?" Naruto called as he strapped on his greaves.

"Thirty-seven, thirty-five, nine, and thirty, respectively."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "We're killing a child? Wow, someone must be pissed…"

"Well," Tetsuo drawled, "Kumaji and Saburo had the bright idea to rape and murder Agari Kedouin's daughter, so, yeah, I'd imagine he's pretty pissed. That's probably why he's hiring us to start a war, not simply kill the Fuuma brothers. Agari apparently wants everyone directly related to Kumaji to take a dirt nap- hell, he even gave us special directions concerning the corpses."

"Special directions?" Naruto asked, stepping out from behind his tree, gear fully in place.

Anko's hand clapped him on the shoulder as she gave him a sinister grin, "Let's head out, we got quite a bit of a journey to make 'fore we get started on Kumaji's funeral pyre!"

* * *

**Present Time…**

Naruto wrinkled his nose in distaste as the smell of burning flesh invaded his senses.

"Seems like the fire's burning good…"

Anko chuckled. "Would you expect anything less from me, Naruto-kun?"

"As much as I'd love to keep standing around, listening to the two of you talk about how great you both are," Tetsuo interrupted, denying Naruto his witty retort, "the pile of burning bodies below us is sure to attract attention. And, while I know that Agari specifically instructed us to _not_ hide our presence, if we stick around we'll have the whole Fuuma clan coming down on us.

"And I only commit genocide if the price is right- no freebies."

Naruto chuckled as the trio took off into the woods. "Like you could do anything, Tetsuo. You're twenty years old and still a _genin_. Or did you forget? I hear drugs can fry your brain…"

The jinchuuriki smirked when Tetsuo's only reply was to grasp at a lump in his shoulder before thinking better of it. "Fuck you, you little shit! One of these days-"

"Shut up, both of you!" Anko snapped. "I don't want to hear you ladies bitching all the way back to Konoha; stow a tampon in it and shut it!"

The two genin promptly quieted down and resumed their jumping.

Anko was a scary woman, after all.

* * *

Naruto rubbed his temples in annoyance as he stepped inside his apartment; the damn migraine was becoming a real nuisance.

"Something troubling you, my boy?"

The jinchuuriki quickly whipped a kunai at the voice's originator, only to stare as the man snatched it out of the air.

"H-Hokage-sama…?"

The old man chuckled as he set the kunai down on Naruto's end table. "That was quite the greeting!"

Naruto bowed humbly, but was waved off.

"Now, now, we'll have none of that, Naruto-kun. Come," Sarutobi asked, gesturing to Naruto's living room, "Have a seat, we've much to discuss."

The blonde did as asked before looking at his leader expectantly. "What is it you needed to see me about, Hokage-sama?"

The Sandaime sighed tiredly and withdrew a sealed envelope from his robes. "Your inheritance, Naruto."

* * *

**Jutsu:**

**Katon: Kasumi Endu no Jutsu- **Fire Release: Mist Covering Technique

**Ninpou: Hinata- **Ninja Art: In the Sun

**A/N:** Sorry about the delay, folks, but shit happens. On a brighter note, the story has now surpassed the 10,000 hits mark, and is up to 81 reviews! I'd like to thank you all for supporting this fiction, you all make it worthwhile. Now, several important things happened in this chapter, so I hope you paid close attention. Bonus points to those that can point out the two biggies. Next chapter will be the start of the Wave Arc, so see you then.

-**Andrew**


	6. Waiting to Die

**Chapter VI: Waiting to Die**

_"How much of human life is lost in waiting."- Ralph Waldo Emerson_

* * *

Somewhere, deep down in a dark little place in his heart of hearts, where the last faintly glimmering speck of light that dared to believe-dared to hope-still flickered amongst the festering blackness that had long since consumed him, Naruto had always known it to be so.

The hair.

The eyes.

Kakashi's attitude.

Why his injuries healed abnormally fast.

Why the Sandaime treated him so.

It all came back to Minato Namikaze.

If Naruto were to be honest with himself, which he wouldn't of course, he would have to admit that he had been living in denial. No, the scared little boy inside him, the one thought long dead since the man in the alley, the one that rose from the dead during Kakashi's bell test, couldn't bear the thought that it was his own father that failed him so, shackled him to the Kyuubi, made him the wretch of an entire village- that his own father fucked him from the very start.

Mind-numbing though it all was, Naruto was honestly more stunned at what his "inheritance", as Sandaime put it, actually consisted of. Naruto didn't really need money, killing for the Brotherhood had left him rather well taken care of, but for some reason that escaped him Naruto had still been expecting a rather large check.

Some land.

Maybe even a few properties and businesses, too.

But that's not what was to be revealed when Naruto cut his thumb and offered the sealed envelope its blood sacrifice. Instead, the blonde jinchuuriki was presented with a set of trinkets and crumpled piece of paper.

The broken kunai, bracelet, and scroll lay discarded in favor of the aforementioned scrap, which Naruto was now holding as if it were holy scripture, shaking fingers reverently tracing the hastily scrawled note that proved his father had lived, once breathed and thought of him.

_Son, I didn't have much time. It's not much, but I've managed to leave a little bit of everything that's important to me. Your mother and I love you more than anything, no matter what._

Naruto had not been prepared for this, anything but this- the blonde never expected to be cradling the sum of his father condensed into a few frantically scribbled sentences. How must have it felt, your imminent end pounding at the door in the form of the Kyuubi, forced to write down the only words your child would ever remember you by-

Naruto abruptly ended his traitorous line off thought, feeling uncomfortable at the foreign sensation of empathy now swelling in his breast and the many confusing thoughts and emotions it brought out in him.

"Money would have been sooo much simpler," Naruto sighed wistfully as he flicked his eyes towards the door Sandaime had quietly exited some fifteen minutes beforehand.

The old man had left Naruto with an envelope and a quiet apology buried in an invitation to meet and discuss things further when the jinchuuriki deemed himself ready.

The door had clicked quietly behind him.

It had been loud enough to reverberate throughout Naruto's entire being and shatter his already fractured world.

It hurt...

And that's why buried it. Brushed it aside to fester awhile. He could numb the pain now and let it explode later much more terribly, but at least it wouldn't be today. Not the morning he started missions, shitty, bottom-of-the-barrel menial tasks.

But D-ranks still paid.

And the world kept spinning, life never stopped.

Naruto Uzumaki didn't have time to reinvent himself.

He was in too deep, already. This was just more fuel for the fire, and now, with what he knew and what he had... maybe, if he was lucky, he could come out just a little further than he was originally intended.

The young genin gathered the three items, sparing an extended glance at the broken kunai, and placed them on his living room table. Naruto's eyes lingered on the intricate seals carved into the hilt of the bladed weapon, as he rose to fetch a sealing scroll from his room.

_"Soon,"_ he thought as he sealed the items, vowing to have a sealing tattoo inked onto his wrist in order to keep the scroll on him at all times. _"But not today, not now."  
_

Naruto hid the scroll in his closet and walked to the door, preparing to collect payment from Hiashi before he was meant to meet with his team for their first round of missions.

His thoughts strayed briefly towards how best to ignore Hinata and get out of seeing her, another problem he found himself unprepared for.

He stepped outside and strode off, the door quietly clicking shut behind him.

* * *

_"So this is really happening, huh...?"_Naruto thought as he stared dolefully at his jonin sensei.

"Does anyone have any questions about our first mission!" The masked man practically gushed, barely able to hide his joy at his mulish students' misery.

"...Seriously," Sakura started, again, "we have to do this? Someone is willing to pay us to do this?"

The pink haired girl glanced at her two teammates for support. "Why are you both looking at me like I'm the crazy one full of shit? They're paying us to plow a field! We're ninja, we-"

"Sakura," Kakashi smoothly interrupted, "and other students for that matter, these missions are vital in building the foundation for our teamwork and synergy. It's important that we learn to work together before we head out into the field, where, no matter how little, we run the risk of encountering enemy shinobi."

The masked ninja gestured to the farm surrounding Team 7. "It just so happens that nothing hammers the lesson home quite like rigorous training mixed with a healthy diet of farm labor, dog walking, pet retrieval, and fence painting."

Sakura looked around fruitlessly.

Naruto was contemplating a pair of children chasing a gaggle of chickens.

Sasuke... was Sasuke; his eyes were closed as he pretended to ignore the world around him.

A cow mooed in the distance.

"No one is complaining but you, Sakura," Kakashi pointed out, "Sasuke and Naruto are on board!"

Kakashi sighed as the Uchiha spared a moment to open his eyes and affix the jonin with a withering glare that conveyed loathing only Sasuke could muster, before quietly trudging off towards the plowing harnesses that they would use to get the fields ready.

Team 7's lone kunoichi looked to Naruto, only to find the blonde already resigned to following after Sasuke.

"Everyone's on the trolley but you, Sakura..." Kakashi offered, causing the girl to huff and angrily stalk after her teammates.

The jonin could only chuckle quietly, pulling out Icha Icha Paradise, as his student mumbled suggestions on where he could stick his trolley.

* * *

Seven days.

It had only been seven days.

Seven days that were a blur of overly tedious D-ranked missions that were insufferably, mind-numbingly boring.

Then there was the training.

The blonde jinchuuriki rubbed the quickly fading bruise from the morning's training session. "Training," it seemed, consisted of relentless three-on-one sparring until Kakashi was convinced that his students had been sufficiently beaten into submission. Every day, without fail, the genin cell sparred until one team member was made to yield.

Such training meant that the jonin's students often went home in a rather tender and battered condition, and its repetition ensured that Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura were stripped of any potential inklings of grandeur; they were the exceedingly talented students, but Kakashi was still the teacher, and he made damn sure they remembered the fact.

It was bitter work, but the results spoke for themselves. The genin cell was learning cohesion as the three students were forced to constantly devise ever-evolving tactics to take down a stronger opponent, constantly straining their limits and breaking points, teaching them a lesson most shinobi were forced to learn at the mercy of an enemy nin.

Never relent.

Always adapt.

Never stop pressing forward.

_"Even in the face of insurmountable odds,"_Naruto added in his head, vaguely aware of the voice speaking to the room.

He still hadn't spoken to Hinata, Hiashi would say something soon if he began to suspect that Naruto was not holding up his end of the bargain.

The blonde genin's eyes affixed themselves on the genial Hokage. Sarutobi was making quite the show with Kakashi about which mission would best challenge his fledgling team. The two were drunk on the joy of torturing the genin with the excess labor demands of the village. Naruto watched as the Hokage extracted a lone scroll from the pile marked "D" and offered it to Kakashi. He grit his teeth.

He was wallowing, backsliding. It was time for a change of pace.

"...it shouldn't be too difficult, Kakashi, I'd bet they could have it done by noon if you pushed them," Sarutobi eyed Team 7 speculatively, "Yomitsu-san's orchard isn't that big-"

"No."

The temperature dropped ten degrees as Naruto found himself pinned under Hiruzen's icy stare.

"Let us try a C-rank mission, Hokage-sama, we've learned all manual labor is gonna teach us," the disrespectful genin hastened to add, gesturing to Team 7 as a whole, "My teammates and I feel we've earned our opportunity to prove ourselves." Naruto finished in forced politeness, his eyes betraying him and defiantly daring Sarutobi to contradict him, to deny him now after the mess he just shit into Naruto's life.

The old man glared at the stubborn genin, both disgruntled and impressed by the boy's cheek. Sarutobi huffed before turning his attention to the last Uchiha.

"Sasuke-kun," the Sandaime began, pausing when a pair of blood-red eyes cracked open to regard him, "do you agree with your teammate? Do you also feel that Team 7 is ready to attempt a mission of higher rank?"

The raven-haired teen's Sharingan whirled lazily while his calculating gaze swept over his team. "The manner in which Kakashi-sensei beats us leads me to believe that our duties are meant to encompass more than just manual labor, Hokage-sama," the Uchiha began flatly, his gaze pinning itself on his grinning sensei, affixing the man with its most loathsome glare. "I believe myself ready to begin instruction in those duties."

Hiruzen nodded and looked to the kunoichi. "Sakura-chan?"

"I agree!" She spilled out before nodding to herself reassuringly. "I have faith in Naruto and Sasuke, harvesting crops can only take us so far, anyway..."

The Hokage smiled inwardly before turning to Kakashi, letting the obvious question hang, unspoken, in the air for the man to consider.

Indeed, it was quite the spot for the jonin to suddenly find himself thrust into. Was his team ready? Sure, bullshit D-missions did little more than cover the village's unwanted jobs and provide Kakashi with what amounted to free money—it's like they paid him to read Icha Icha—but the field held many unforeseen dangers.

But what choice did he honestly have? His students couldn't waste away much longer. He was supposed to train the precocious little bastards, was he not? Surely beating them mercilessly had at least prepared them for the average violent confrontation, right?

"...I suppose my students have shown quite a bit of growth, Hokage-sama," the copy-ninja ceded painfully slow. Always one to be described as "casually aloof"-Sasuke had the look, but lacked the attitude-even Kakashi could not shirk the tugging of his heart strings upon hearing Sakura's words of faith. The cycloptic jonin wanted desperately to believe her, to be able to dump all his sparkly hope and belief into his student without fear of consequence.

Kakashi was very much the virgin desperate to throw her faith and belief at her first boyfriend right now.

The man looked to his three genin. Sakura was all smiles, practically glowing with eagerness, ready for her first foray into the world outside the village. Sasuke, the picture of insufferable indifference, leaned against the wall behind Sakura with his eyes shut to the world- the boy's stance might as well have been a ballot in a box. In front of them all stood Naruto, quietly smoldering at the Hokage, forgetting that he doesn't have petty emotions like "scared," "upset," and "uncertain" because he's too busy telling the world to fuck off at the moment. Kakashi should have been weeping with pride, he'd never seen his students so driven and united, but the man knew better. Having been the blushing virgin, once, he knew the truth.

_"First times always hurt,"_Kakashi thought wistfully.

No, he had graduated, he was now the lying boyfriend meant to teach these things, at least his genin would get their cherries popped on a simple C-rank, not in the heat of war with the bodies of their fellow shinobi collapsing into pools of their own blood all around them. Kakashi sighed audibly upon the realization that it was time to teach.

"I believe they can handle it, Hokage-sama." The jonin sensei assented.

Kakashi immediately regretted his actions upon seeing the evil grin that carved itself into Hiruzen's wizened face.

"I have just the one, Kakashi, a _learning _mission, if you will..." The Hokage began, extracting a scroll from his desk before pressing a button on his intercom that caused it to hum with static, "Could you please send in Tazuna-san...?"

* * *

Naruto scoffed as he examined the array of weapons laid out before him on his bed. He had two hours to pack and prepare to escort their... client to Wave. A simple task that shouldn't require more than the Ebony Blade, if the bandits even decided to bother attacking.

_"Which they probably won't,"_the genin thought ruefully as he put his excess weapons up, grabbing a few kunai and shuriken to use just in case he got bored. Naruto made his way to the front door at a sedated pace, not looking forward to seeing Hinata before he left. He owed it to the girl to at least try to catch her before he departed for the next week or so, and he owed it to Hiashi to at least leave her with a few jutsu to practice.

It was with an air of melancholy that the young genin locked his apartment up and departed for the Hyuuga compound. If he hurried, Naruto could make it over and still have roughly an hour to say what he needed to say and teach what he needed to teach. Thankfully, running atop Konoha's roofs made the trek to the Clan District rather pain-free and the jinchuuriki soon found himself arriving at the Hyuuga compound's main gate. A pair of strained nods later, and Naruto was shuffling through, heading towards the gardens where the sound of combat met his ears.

Upon rounding the corner, Naruto was greeted with the sight of Hinata engaged with another unknown Hyuuga. Byakugans activated, the two Hyuuga charged at each other again, the male Hyuuga, Naruto noted, was moving much faster than Hinata.

The boy ducked under Hinata's initial strike, delivering a pair of light taps to the underside of the girl's outstretched arm, causing her to flinch back in pain. Naruto grimaced as the unknown Hyuuga used this opening to deliver a juuken strike to Hinata's exposed side.

The girl recovered quickly, forcing the boy back with a succession of quick strikes aimed at his eyes and neck. The gambit paid off and Hinata was granted with a few more inches of separation that she used plant her feet and follow through with a series of strikes aimed at her opponent's midsection.

Hinata's initial blow was well placed, striking the boy at the base of his sternum, but her combination quickly crumbled when she gave a shuddering cough that forced her to retreat. The girl's breathing became labored as her sides quivered with every pained and shaking breath.

Naruto glared hatefully as he caught the grin on the boy's face when he advanced on Hinata, mercilessly striking the weakened arm Hinata was forced to throw up to defend herself. The grin grew wider when he saw her withdraw the limb, lashing out with a desperate strike that he capitalized on, batting it harmlessly away.

He smiled as she stumbled, exposing her side, and he took aim for that exact same tenketsu.

The wind blew and the leaves rustled softly as Hinata fell backwards, suddenly pushed away from her attacker, when Naruto steeled up his stance. The jinchuuriki's eyes narrowed dangerously when he felt the foreign chakra whistle past his face, heating his cheek.

"That's enough, I'll take over from here." Naruto leered, his voice brokering no argument.

Pale eyes regarded him mockingly. "Hinata-sama's lesson is not yet complete..."

Naruto stepped forward as the boy snatched his hand away. "Yes it is. Go the fuck away, asshole."

Blue eyes met milky white as the two boys sized each other up. Naruto's hands went to his katana, thumbing it free from its scabbard.

The opponent struck first, forcing Naruto to step back in order to avoid having his eyes put out from the other boy's juuken strike. The Hyuuga took advantage of this, stepping forward and using his left hand to push Naruto's sword back into its scabbard.

The blonde swung his free arm up to parry a fresh strike to his left side from his assailant's other hand, gritting his teeth as the foreign chakra invaded him with a needling sensation. Naruto gave an enraged growl as he again left himself open for the Hyuuga to grab onto the Ebony Blade and plant his other knee closer, ensuring that the two combatants remained closely locked together.

Naruto lashed out with his free left hand, his hook missing the Hyuuga boy's chin; the genin grinned viciously when his opponent attempted to parry his strike rather than simply dodge it, and grabbed the surprised attacker by his wrist.

The Byakugan user's eyes widened comically as a head of golden locks swung forward and smashed into his nose, causing him to stumble backwards and howl in pain.

Minato Namikaze's only living descendant drew his sword and leered victoriously as he watched his opponent's broken nose gush a stream of warm blood.

The Hyuuga quickly recovered his bearings and made to set upon Naruto one more time, pausing once his pale eyes regarded the drawn katana the jinchuuriki now held in his hands. Loathing boiled inside the young Hyuuga at the sight of his blonde nemesis, but it was not enough to completely overpower his better judgment.

Naruto whistled innocently as he toyed with his sword. "What's the hold up, Hyuuga-san? Our lesson isn't over, yet..."

"I will end your miserable existence, fool. I need no blade to cut you down." The boy challenged as he readied his stance once more.

"Stop it, both of you!" Hinata finally demanded, panting at the effort of rising to her feet. "Neji-niisan," she bit out bitterly, "thank you for the spar, but I need to speak with Naruto."

The girl put on her most defiant glare, secretly hoping that Neji would not put her in an even more awkward situation than the one she already found herself floundering in.

"Then I leave you in Naruto-san's... capable hands. Until tomorrow, then, Hinata-sama." The boy muttered silkily, turning on his heel and promptly striding off.

Naruto didn't like the tone of his farewell, the blonde knew that Hinata would pay for his actions the next time she sparred with this "Neji." After his new Hyuuga acquaintance disappeared behind a corner, presumably to attend to his nose, Naruto turned around to face a frowning Hinata.

"I don't like him."

"No," the heiress sighed, "I didn't think you would."

"Are all of your sparring sessions like that?" Naruto asked as he watched Hinata favor the side Neji had struck.

She shrugged. "More or less. Neji has never been known to hold back, Naruto-kun."

It took all of Naruto's willpower not to grimace in frustration as he followed the girl to a bench a few steps away from the sparring area. Why did women insist on being so difficult? He knew that he was here to apologize, Hinata knew it too! The pale-eyed girl, however, seemed intent on her refusal to broach the subject, seemingly content to let the stifling awkwardness envelop them both until Naruto chose to break the subject.

"Goddamnit, Hinata," the Kyuubi vessel groaned, "why are you making this so difficult? You know why I'm here, I know why I'm here- I'm sorry, okay? I shouldn't have yelled at you like that."

Naruto plopped down next to Hinata with an exasperated huff, his eyes still locked on the area where Neji had struck her.

The girl turned a solemn eye to regard him quietly before finally speaking. "We both knew that I would forgive you, Naruto-kun." Hinata smiled sadly as she gripped Naruto's hand in her own delicate one. "You know I can never stay mad at you, no matter what- I'm weak like that."

The jinchuuriki ran his thumb over the silken skin before reaching over and gently lifting the side of Hinata's shirt, causing the girl to blush brightly as he revealed an expanse of creamy, white flesh marred by angry red and purple where Neji's invading chakra had been forced into her tenketsu.

"Does it still hurt?" Naruto asked, looking up at her, tearing his eyes away from her injury and locking them with hers.

"N-not really. Neji's chakra is already naturally dissipating." On cue, Hinata took another shuddering breath, clutching her quaking sides as she spasmed painfully.

Naruto committed the name Neji to memory as he watched his friend attempt a few shallow breaths to recollect herself, vowing to finish teaching the cruel Hyuuga his lesson.

"But breathing will be rather taxing for another hour or so..." Hinata added with a shaky laugh that died in her throat when she felt Naruto's knuckles ever so lightly ghost over the flesh covering her ribs as he slid her shirt back down, sending a shiver through the girl that resonated the very base of her spine.

The Hyuuga heiress sucked in another piercing breath and turned to find her blonde friend nodding to her contemplatively.

There was a pause where they merely sat, Naruto picking his words carefully, Hinata content with just being near him.

"You're not weak," Naruto finally began. The blonde jinchuuriki made sure he held her attention before continuing on. "No one else puts up with me like you do, no one tries like you do."

"You have Shikamaru-kun as well-"

"Not the same," Naruto interrupted with a shake of his head. "Shikamaru's great and all, but we both know it's not the same. You need to stop selling yourself short, Hinata-chan. It manifests itself in many ways; respect is important, and you have to demand it. From me, from your family, and from yourself."

Hinata nodded stiffly, finding Naruto's words rooted in bitter truth. "I'm trying."

"Good. And I've got some things for you to work on for your next spar with Neji as well."

That certainly piqued the kunoichi's interest. "Really, Naruto-kun? What do you have in mind?" She asked eyeing the scroll Naruto was now handing her.

"Sealed in that scroll are some reading materials for you to peruse while I'm away. Of particular importance is a chart of various nerve clusters and pressure points; memorize the ones I've noted and be able to identify them on an opponent's body." Naruto instructed as he checked through his other equipment.

Hinata nodded in understanding, vowing to impress Naruto when next she saw him. The notion, however, shone new light on Naruto's earlier words.

"...While you're away," she repeated softly, looking to Naruto questioningly. "Are you leaving the village, Naruto-kun?"

"Right in one, Hinata. Team 7 is off on its first ever C-rank mission! Why, whatever is a young, proper ninja to do outside the city walls?" the blonde gushed in mock sincerity causing his friend to giggle softly.

"You should be excited, Naruto-kun. I've only gotten to leave the village three times in my life, and I've treasured each experience. There is an amazing world out there, Naruto-kun, shinobi are some of the few people who will get to see an expansive stretch of it!"

The kunoichi paused, briefly considering her words to Naruto. "Just be careful, and come back safely," she added as an afterthought.

Naruto chuckled. "There's no need to worry, we're just escorting some drunk back home, protecting him from bandits and shit... that's if any bandits are brave enough to attack us..."

He shook his head, sighing. "...which they won't be."

"You should still take care to remain cautious, Naruto-kun," Hinata protested as Naruto rose to leave.

"You don't have to take care of me, Hinata, I'm a big boy."

The girl rose to hug him, catching his eye one last time before letting go. "I have to; if I don't, no one else will, not even you, Naruto-kun."

The two shared another look, neither knowing what to say next.

Naruto settled for a nod of his head.

Hinata sighed.

And then he was gone.

* * *

"...if no one else has any further questions on our objective for the day, I'll take the lead," Kakashi muttered sullenly, vowing to beat his students harder for saddling him with this mission.

Team 7 fell into step behind the jonin, Sasuke taking the rear while Naruto and Sakura flanked Tazuna.

"...Sooo, Tazuna-san," Naruto drawled, "what is that you do, again?"

The older man eyed the blonde teenager suspiciously. He was the type, down to a "T"- the kind that'd stand on a man's grass even though he'd been told to keep off the grass.

_"Little bastard..."_He thought darkly. "I work in construction, boy. I'm overseeing the bridge that's gonna connect Wave to tha' mainland."

"I see, makes sense enough. You got a family?"

"Daughter and grandson," Tazuna grunted. "Light of my life, apple of my eye, shining beacon... the whole nine yards." The bridge builder continued to eye his blonde escort speculatively. The boy proved hard to read, despite the odd manner in which he carried himself; like a man too caught up in other places to ever be truly invested in the present.

Tazuna noticed this trait in each of his hired guard, he thought it might stem from the paranoia that must be associated with being a ninja. They seemed to be in a constant state of barely controlled excitement, ready for the next ambush.

The next attack.

The next death.

The next kill.

_"It must be a sight when they finally snap..."_The old man lamented sadly, pulling a ceramic bottle from his waist and taking a long pull. The sake's familiar burn chased itself back up his chest, hugging him in that comforting way that no other human ever could. The simple act, much to Tazuna's chagrin, did not go unnoticed by Naruto.

"How 'bout you share the wealth, Tazuna-san, I'd sure appreciate it..." He fished, waggling his eyebrows suggestively while his grin strained the fabric of his mask.

"Aren't you a little young to be drinkin', boy?" Tazuna asked suspiciously, eyeing Naruto under closer scrutiny between swigs.

"Look, Tazuna-san, I'm gonna level with you-"

The bridge builder raised an eyebrow questioningly when the kunoichi of the group snorted derisively.

"Shut up, Sakura," Naruto hissed before turning back to Tazuna. "Ignore her, it's her period-"

"-fuck you, Naruto-"

"-and she's hysterical, first time out of the village, really tragic. But, to honestly level with you, it is a bit distressing to leave the village for the first time. It's taxing on the nerves to say the least. And, I don't know about you, but a decently stiff drink usually calms my nerves." The blonde jinchuuriki nodded sagely, impressed at his sound logic.

"In fact," he continued, hitting his stride, "it's really in your best interest, Tazuna-san. You want me at my best, I promise. I'd even go so far as to say that I could guarantee you a little extra protection! It's obvious that we're gonna get that job done, but I can guarantee you even better. No scratches. Bandits don't even get close enough to spit on you- got someone that needs killing? Let me know, I aim to please!"

"N-needs killing...?" The old man spluttered, spilling sake down his face in the process. "You'd kill someone, just like that, if I asked you to?"

"Well..." Naruto began before motioning towards the sake, clearly indicating that he would have to be pried for more.

The old man looked like he would continue to decline, but the young shinobi had already captivated his attention. "Go on, then..." He encouraged, taking another swig of the liquor and handing it to the blonde.

Naruto clutched the bottle greedily as he slid down his mask before taking a mightily impressive pull that he capped off with a satisfied sigh as the alcohol's burn swelled in his chest. "Normally, Tazuna-san, the taking of 'personal' assassination missions—missions not contracted through the village—is deemed an offense, some might even say it was murder!"

"'Murder?'"

"Yup!" Naruto answered cheerfully before taking another swig and passing the bottle back to Tazuna. "Buuut, if I were to, say, 'murder' that landlord who's been hassling you because he or she was involved in the 'plot' to assassinate you, well then I'm just doing my job.

"With extreme prejudice." The jinchuuriki added, accepting the sake bottle when Tazuna passed it back to him.

"Ignore him, Tazuna-san," Sakura interrupted, finally reaching the end of her silence. "my teammate speaks of such matters as if they were simple black-and-white choices, not the incredibly complex legal—and not to mention _moral_, Naruto—situations that they would in fact prove themselves to be!"

"Mere details, Tazuna-san," Naruto waved off, irritating Sakura further, "that are for me, not yourself, to worry about. Like I said earlier, I intend to ensure that you get the best protection possible!"

The genin reiterated his statement with a sly wink and another swig of sake after Tazuna again handed him the bottle.

The kid made a halfway decent argument, despite being full of shit. Strange enough, however, the old bridge builder didn't get the impression that Naruto would have any qualms backing up his claims if push came to shove.

Plus, he was a decent drinking partner, for a kid. He could keep up, at least.

"So... your teacher isn't gonna be mad at you for drinking right now?" Tazuna asked as Naruto passed him the sake.

"Mmm... that depends, I suppose," he hazarded.

"Depends on what?" Tazuna demanded, passing the now precariously low sake bottle back to his drinking partner.

"On whether or not I hold my shit together—when and if—things get... sticky, Tazuna-san." Naruto answered, a blue eye peering into the sake bottle reproachfully. "'slong as I can perform my duties, I'm doing my job! Right now, keeping you alive is primary objective number one, and it's gettin' done!"

"I'll always have my eye on you, Naruto," Kakashi called from behind his Icha Icha book, "so I'd advise you to be on your best behavior at all times, because I'll be watching."

The blonde jinchuuriki repressed a shudder at his sensei's tone, the man could hawk him twenty-four/seven and Naruto would be powerless to stop him.

"Sasuke, take the lead for a while," Kakashi called, halting and waiting for the Uchiha to approach him before he continued to address his team as a whole. "Alright kids, I'm a firm believer in the 'hands-on' approach, it's something I've inherited from my sensei- you learn by doing."

The man smiled to himself as he watched his students brighten up. "That means," he continued, "that whoever is on point is calling the shots- to a certain degree. We all know what the mission is and everyone is going to have an opportunity to showcase how they think the team as a whole should get it done."

Tazuna watched as the tall man made his way to the rear of the group, masked face already buried behind his precious orange book.

The quiet giggles made the old bridge builder uncomfortable.

Naruto, on the other hand, was intensely scrutinizing his raven-haired teammate from the other side of Tazuna's sake bottle. The blonde boy was drinking in everything about the situation, sake included, in an attempt to divine its meaning.

Why did Kakashi-sensei choose that exact moment to change the lead.

What exactly fell under the jurisdiction of "calling the shots?"

Why did Sasuke get to go first?

Would Sakura get to go next?

"Fuck that..." Naruto mumbled darkly, his blue eyes burning a hole into his teammate's back. If Sasuke was nervous at all about being handed the reins, he was doing an exceptional job of hiding it, Naruto decided grudgingly. The Uchiha carried himself as he always did, with that insufferable air of uninvolvement, as he scanned the trees surrounding them with his Sharingan. Naruto allowed himself a few more dark, ego-stroking thoughts before turning his attention to the now empty sake bottle in his hand.

"Whatcha' doing over there, boy? Any left?" Tazuna asked, suddenly, breaking the genin's concentration.

"Nothing, just checking the label," he answered, indicating the bottle's red label, "I was wondering who made this stuff, it's pretty fucking good!"

"Made in good ol' Wave Country!" The man proclaimed proudly. "Wave's known for its sake, I'll show you a place or two around town, sake lover's delight, I promise!"

Naruto stiffened slightly, watching Sasuke, before continuing on as if he were uninterrupted. The blonde genin's free hand slipped surreptitiously to his waist. "I'm sure we'll have some free time once we get you safely back home, Tazuna-san; God knows we could all use a stiff drink, right, Sakura-chan?"

"You know I don't drink, Naruto," the girl deadpanned.

"First time for everything," he shot back pointedly, eyes flicking about as they scanned the area. "It'd be fun, ya know... you, me, and all the sake we would ever need."

Sakura turned in Naruto's direction, witty retort already poised to fire, and was stopped abruptly when she found the blonde suddenly invading her personal space. "N-Naruto! The fuck-?" She spluttered, confused by his actions.

The slightly inebriated jinchuuriki drew on the liquid courage coursing its way through his body and pulled the girl close, his bottle-free arm snaking around her exposed midriff.

"We would sit out on the beach, you know..." Naruto breathed huskily, his fingers causing a wave of goose bumps to bloom on Sakura's skin as they traced tight little circles just east of her navel. "the waves, crashing against the shore... birds singing as they floated by on the salty breeze..."

Sakura shivered when Naruto pulled her closer, her body mewling into his embrace of its own accord as he brought the pair of them to a complete stop.

"We could be so good together, Sakura-chan," Naruto whispered. The teen was all groping limbs, burning eyes, and breath heavy with alcohol that caused each word to tumble out, saturated in pure want, as if it were the last line tying her to existence.

Idly, the girl's hand fisted in Naruto's chest, grasping the black cloth of his shinobi shizokou with an iron grip as several realizations crashed down upon her in orgasmic epiphany.

Firstly, the girl realized how good it felt to be wanted. She had no real definitive feelings towards Naruto, she just kinda knew him, but there was no denying the excitement that swelled in her chest when he looked her in the eyes like she was the only thing he would ever care to see, held her like he'd never let her go, and touched her like he'd want nothing more than to put his hands anywhere and everywhere besides where one currently rested just above her hip. It sure as hell wasn't love and the reason behind it was lost to Sakura, but she knew he was genuine- he honestly desired her.

The second realization was the one that almost brought her to tears: Sakura was a very lonely person. The girl wanted love, affection, caring, someone to hold her, tell her she wasn't worthless and plain and average... the overwhelming hopelessness of it threatened to overtake her as she realized she didn't know what the fuck she wanted, she just knew she no longer wanted to feel and think the way she did, wanted to be anyone but herself.

It hurt too much, she needed it to stop.

But filling a God-shaped hole is a daunting task when you're thirteen, insecure, and still living with your mother.

Sakura decided that change was in order.

_"At least I know what I need to do now..."_she thought to herself, choosing to ignore that she had no ideas how to actually accomplish her goals and instead turn all of her brainpower towards addressing her third, and arguably most intriguing, realization.

Naruto's fingers.

They weren't wantonly caressing her exposed flesh like she had originally assumed, they were tapping her.

In a repeating pattern.

Same intervals, same amount of time between every pause and every tap.

The morse code message was clear:

_Unknown threat ahead._

"...Get the fuck off, Naruto!" The girl exclaimed, shoving her teammate away and dropping her hand down to pass on the message to Kakashi. "Getting shit-faced less than three hours into your first real mission isn't very professional." The seriousness of the situation seemed to sap the blush from her cheeks that had originally bloomed under Naruto's actions as her eyes cleared into hardened jade chips that relentlessly scanned the surrounding area for the aforementioned threat.

The trees whispered quietly as the breeze flitted though their leaves, each one a hidden perch for anyone looking to get the drop on unsuspecting passers-by.

Innocent foliage had never seemed so sinister.

Sakura suddenly felt horribly exposed.

"Jeez, Sakura, you don't have to be so violent, a simple 'yes, take me now, Naruto-kun' would have sufficed," the blonde admonished as he passed along another silent message, equally as troubling as the last. _"Genjutsu."_

"I swear to fucking God, Naruto, if you don't shut the fuck up, I'm gonna take this kunai and-"

"Sakura."

"...yes, Sasuke-kun?" the girl blinked.

"Shut the fuck up."

The kunoichi sighed dejectedly, vowing to break words with the blonde little shit once night fell and they made camp... it would be so easy, all she'd need to do was ask Naruto to take a walk with her to patrol and lead off with a little extra sway in her hips and she'd have Naruto's balls on a dish.

Hell, if she managed to track down some sake, the whole affair would be at least ten times easier and he'd keep paying till tomorrow afternoon.

Revenge, served cold with a side of hangover.

Anko would be so proud.

_"She'd probably still have sex with him, though... eww..."_Sakura thought with a shudder, as several unbidden images came to mind. Team 7's kunoichi quickly distracted herself with thoughts of how to best drown Naruto, sparing one last derisive snort for the blonde asshole as she watched Naruto carelessly drop his sake bottle on the ground.

The kunoichi quickly drowned out his ranting.

"Aww... what a swell leader," Naruto griped sarcastically, toeing around a puddle. He had caught the most recent exchange of orders between Sasuke and their sensei; he wasn't pleased. "I can see why you picked Sasuke, Kakashi-sensei, whatever would we do without him?"

Naruto was jealous, Kakashi's message had been clear.

_"Follow Sasuke's lead."_

"We might as well change the name to 'Team Sasuke,'" the jinchuuriki continued, poking the bridge builder conspiratorially in the ribs. "My talents are grossly under appreciated by the general masses, Tazuna-san."

He sniffed dramatically.

"Naruto," Kakashi began, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration, "everyone's going to get a turn, I prom- urk!"

It happened immediately. Tazuna barely had time to start scrambling backwards before they leapt, exploding out of the puddle and twisting themselves about in the air before landing on each side of the masked join.

The terrified bridge builder's startled cry died in his throat as he felt himself suddenly fly away, shocked eyes mortifyingly stuck on the falling chunks of the former Konoha-nin.

Sasuke used his Sharingan to hastily cast a genjutsu on the chopped remains of Kakashi's kawarimi, making it appear as if the surprise attack had actually caught them off guard.

The Uchiha glanced back, making sure that Sakura was on top of their client.

He passed another round of hand signs with Naruto.

Sasuke could do nothing but scowl hatefully at the blonde genin as he refused to obey his commands.

"Littering, you disrespectful little shit? At least have some fucking decency, eh?" The taller of the two asked, his words burbling out of the respirator strapped to his face. "Your sensei shoulda taught you fucks some manners before taking wet genin out into the big bad world!" He threatened in a wet snarl.

"Ease up, there, Gouzu," Sasuke narrowed his eyes warily at the sinister claws extending from their chained gauntlets, "we could still work this out– maybe let them live…"

Gouzu blinked, turning his head. "…no we can't, Meizu, you know that…"

Sasuke idly noted that the Kiri insignias on both shinobi's hitai-ate had a jagged gash running through each of them.

Meizu seemed to reconsider, grabbing the sake bottle Naruto had dropped moments before from the ground. "You're right, we cant't– BUT!" he shouted warningly upon seeing the three genin tense in anticipation, "perhaps we can make it… _humane_, if you cooperate with us."

"It's the least we could do for a litter bug, ya know…" his brother tacked on helpfully, pointing at Naruto and jerking his head towards the empty bottle.

"…don't idiot!" Sasuke hissed angrily.

"Eat a bag of dicks, Sasuke!" The blonde spat back venomously.

"Goddamnit, Naruto, I said _no_! Listen to my–"

"And I'm telling _you_that it'll work, asshole," the jinchuuriki countered heatedly, taking a step forward, "What part of that fucking statement are you having trouble listening to!"

"Can't you just follow directions for once, Naruto?" Sakura added exasperatedly, pulling out a kunai from her leg holster.

"It'll work, goddamnit–!"

"—that's not the point, you retard—"

"_Ah hem!_" Gouzu coughed thickly, "Do any of you greener-than-grass-stains genin have a _fucking_clue who it is exactly that you're dealing with?"

Team 7 stared back blankly, their argument momentarily forgotten.

"It's a sad day when little genin are no longer taught to fear Kirigakure's finest, brother." Meizu simpered in mock admonishment. "Do they not spread horror stories of the 'Bloody Mist' in your village, _litter bug_," he asked, leering at Naruto. "Did your sensei not endeavor to warn you of the demons that lurk about before he was ushered from this world?"

"Did _yours_," the Uchiha sneered, pointing between the two nuke-nin, "never teach you to look underneath the underneath?"

The two brothers instantly tightened their stances upon seeing the mangled evidence of the jonin's kawarimi.

Meizu's grip tightened on the sake bottle.

Gouzu raised his gauntlet aggressively.

"Hey, asshole," the blonde spoke suddenly, raising his hands slowly "if that wasn't proof enough of your lacking education, double check that label."

The chunin barely had time to hurl the bottle away before–

"—don't, goddamnit, wait—"

"—KAI!"

Gouzu and Meizu were sent hurtling backwards by the sheer force of the explosion, a great ball of fire erupting just in front of them, peppering them with shattered glass and searing them with biting flames.

The older brother's world spun erratically on its axis while he hurtled through the air before finally landing on his side with bone-shuddering crunch. Gouzu's head rang as he stared dumbly at the trees spinning about, leaves disrupted by the explosion gently showering down all around him.

His suddenly heavy eyes dragged themselves sluggishly until they found his younger brother, arm bent at an odd angle, sprawled out in a disheveled heap some feet away from Gouzu.

The blonde one landed next to his brother.

Things were getting dark, fading away…

Meizu stirred groggily, the blonde rammed the hilt of his sword into his head.

His brother went still…

Gouzu felt rough hands turn him over and a pair of hypnotically red eyes was the last he saw before the ringed end of a kunai crashed into his skull and the darkness claimed him as well.

* * *

"…need to obey the chain of command for a reason, Naruto. If I put one…"

His head was _still _ringing, the world nothing but a garbled miasma of sensation.

"…plan was better, Kakashi-sensei! Sasuke wouldn't…"

The burn on his stomach was practically radiating heat, throbbing painfully as his breathing disturbed the glass imbedded into his skin.

"…wasn't the point, you idiot! Sasuke-kun wanted to see who they were…"

Things had gone wrong, he was now tied up.

"…obviously Kakashi-sensei, they went for him first…"

His heart rate increased. Was Meizu still alive?

"…one way to find out, children. Sasuke, Naruto, go fetch our new friend over there…"

Gouzu grunted and opened his eyes groggily when he felt the shinobi wire bite into his skin as he was unceremoniously dragged closer to the genin cell's sensei.

The captured nuke-nin found himself staring defiantly up at the tall jonin as the Konoha-nin cheerfully waved at him.

"Howdy! My name is Kakashi Hatake, and these…" the man gestured to the three genin standing mulishly behind him, "are my adorably cute little students!" The tall jonin crouched down in front of the nuke-nin. "And what was your name again…?"

"…Gouzu, one of the Demon Brothers of the Bloody Mist." The chunin stated wetly, head held up in defiance.

"Well, Gouzu, that slash in your hitai-ate tells me you are no longer under the employ of the 'Bloody Mist,' and that makes me wonder why exactly you and your _demon_of a brother over there," Kakashi jerked his finger towards Meizu's bound and still form, "went out of your way to assault us… in Fire Country land, no less!"

Only silence met the man's words.

"That's what I was hoping you'd say," the Konoha-nin practically gushed. "Sit tight, I'll get back to you in a moment." He turned to call his genin over. "Gather 'round students… you as well, Tazuna-san– never know who _else_might be out there!"

The four did as they were asked and walked over to the silver-haired man.

"What's our plan, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura questioned. "Should we be sticking out in the open like this, what if they weren't alone?"

"Oh, I'm most sure that our new friends from Mist–"

—Gouzu grunted—

"—_formerly _from Mist—my apologies, Gouzu-san—are not unaided in their endeavors. Which, as I'm sure all three of you have at least gleaned this much," he grinned knowingly at his students, "raises the question of why _nuke-nin_ are attacking _us_."

"So does that mean we get to… _'find out'_for ourselves, Sensei?" Naruto asked with a pair of finger quotes and predatory gleam in his eye.

"Right you are, Naruto, right you are! However," Kakashi paused and turned towards Sasuke, "what do you have to report, Sasuke?"

The Uchiha glared hatefully at his blonde teammate. "_Before_Naruto began ignoring my commands, I had noticed that the Kiri-nin had clearly been waiting for us and wanted to see if we could determine what their intent was. Furthermore," Sasuke turned to regard Tazuna, "I had noticed that our 'client' had been acting rather odd, even before he started drinking with Naruto."

"Go on," the copy-nin encouraged.

"I began to suspect Tazuna-san knew more than what he had informed Konoha of; his actions appeared to indicate fear of something more than just common bandits, Tazuna-san's nervousness, combined with his skepticism at receiving a genin cell as his guard, led me to believe that he might have a more intimate knowledge of who exactly is after him."

"That doesn't mean we should let the enemy make the first move, goddamnit! Sure, information is the motherfuckin' bee's knees, but it's not worth risking our strategic advantage over– you can't ask questions if you're choking on blood after your enemy has slit your throat!" Naruto interjected vehemently, stepping forward aggressively past Sasuke to address Team 7's sensei directly.

"So you believed that our client's well-being was more important than any consequential scenarios that might present themselves, Naruto?" Kakashi queried. "You believed that the mission's primary objective superseded Sasuke's curiosity?"

"Of course, Kakashi–"

"Bull-fucking-shit, Naruto!" Sakura interjected furiously. "You don't give two shits about anything but getting your own fucking way with everything!"

"I… care… about, Tazuna-san, Sakura-chan." Naruto objected halfheartedly, glancing over at the old man from Wave. "We're drinking buddies," he seemed to add as an afterthought.

The old man blinked owlishly. "Gee... thanks."

Naruto gave him what amounted to a reassuring thumbs up as he pulled his mask back up to once again conceal the lower half of his face.

"And, _why_, Naruto," Kakashi sighed, "did you disagree with Sasuke's plan in the first place?"

"'Cause it didn't go 'boom'..." the genin replied in the sort of tone a teacher might use on the one child that always seemed to turn up to class late with his shoes untied and his shirt buttoned wrong.

Naruto eyed the incredulous looks his teammates were giving him, his eyebrows knitting together as he did so. _"...and the shoes are on the wrong feet to boot."_

"That wasn't the goddamn point, Naruto!" Sakura shouted, cheeks flushing in anger. "Now we don't know who these two–" she pointed at the trussed up prisoners "—were actually here to attack!"

"Why bother yelling at the moron, Sakura?" Sasuke sneered, words dripping in superiority. "Would you prefer to just be let loose upon the enemy like a rabid dog, Naruto? Perhaps you'd prefer Sakura and I to stay back so we can clean up the bodies after you've finished?"

The Uchiha's words caused Naruto to bristle visibly as alcohol and anger began to boil in his blood. "Fuck off, Sasuke. If your head wasn't stuck so far up your own ass, you'd see–"

"—and if _you_acted like a real ninja for once—just once—" Sasuke interjected, "—our team would already know its next move."

Naruto took a few heavy steps towards his teammate, eyes burning and jaw set. Sasuke's hand drifted towards his shuriken pouch, fingers eager to touch cold steel and spill warm blood.

"_Enough_." Kakashi interrupted, halting both of his genin with a withering glare.

Even Sakura shuddered at the killing intent that leaked from their sensei to caress them all.

"Enough." He repeated. "There will be no fighting amongst you three unless I say so. And, I assure you, that the next spar will most certainly be the three of you against me." Kakashi savored the sight of his students visibly paling before addressing them individually. "Naruto, you'll obey any and every order I give, understood?"

The blonde nodded sourly. "Yes, Kakashi-sensei."

"Sasuke," Kakashi turned towards the Uchiha, "When things go wrong or off track, don't try and resolve them by picking fights– don't goad your teammates on after they've been rattled. I'm the sensei, not you."

"Hn."

The copy-nin turned to address the final member of his team. "Sakura, you–"

"That's how you have to deal with him, sensei!" she interrupted, pointing an accusatory finger at her blonde teammate. "You have to be firm, Naruto needs a firm hand–"

"—I really do—"

"—and you can't let him verbally overpower you!" Sakura finished, glaring at Naruto for his interruption.

Kakashi blinked. "…I was actually going to say that you shouldn't let Naruto get you that riled up, Sakura."

"…oh." She blushed. "Okay, then…"

"Besides," Naruto added with a leer and his hands held up, "I'd much rather get you worked up with these, Sakura-chan."

Naruto mimed squeezing a pair of invisible objects and winked at the pinkette.

"…I don't know if you're an idiot, or just an asshole," the kunoichi growled vehemently.

"Hn. Can't it be both?"

"Go eat a bag of mashed up assholes, Sasuke!"

"Fuck you, Naruto," Sakura returned, forestalling Sasuke's comeback and flipping Naruto the bird in one smooth motion, "Fuck you ten times over, asshole."

"Ten times?" Naruto questioned, raising a brow and scoffing. "You wouldn't last. Please, Sakura-chan, don't even get me started on the things I'd eat out of you're a—"

"Naruto," Kakashi spoke, trying not to laugh upon noticing the murderous yet slightly nauseous look on Sakura's face. "That'll be enough, thank you. Let's stay focused on the task at hand."

"Yeah, Sasuke," the petulant jinchuuriki picked up seamlessly. "If _you_were paying attention, you'd realize that we don't need the Kiri-nin's answers; we have Tazuna-san."

The old bridge builder went rigid in apprehension when the young shinobi turned his cold, cobalt eyes upon him.

"And you're going to tell us everything we want to know, aren't you, Tazuna-san…" Naruto let his words hang heavy in the air between them, the small palmed kunai clutched in his hand supplying the unspoken threat. _"Or else…"_

"_Actually_, Naruto," Team 7's sensei once again corrected, "I'm going to be instructing you three in the proper method of extracting and obtaining information from the enemy while still in the field." Kakashi looked down at the tied up Kiri-nin and patted his shaggy head. "Hands on, of course!"

All three genin grinned excitedly.

Sakura would put Anko's teachings to practical use and remove herself from under her teammates' shadows by impressing their sensei.

Sasuke's Sharingan spun faster in anticipation; this opportunity would prove most useful in testing the limits of his bloodline.

Naruto licked his lips, ever so slightly, while cruelty and a ruthless desire to win carved his face and marred his features behind the cloth of his mask.

Tazuna just looked as if he was going to be sick.

"Let's see… first it'll be Sasuke, then Sakura, and finally Naruto." The jonin announced, affixing each of his students with a stern eye as their names were called. "If I say 'stop,' you stop. When I speak, you listen." Kakashi looked them over once more. "And, most importantly, no one interrupts while someone else is taking their turn; critique will be left to enlightened individuals such as myself."

"Why does Sasuke-kun get to go first, sensei?"

Surprisingly enough, this time it was Sakura that objected. Though, Kakashi noted, Naruto was most certainly thinking along the same lines as his pink-haired teammate.

"He has the lead." The jonin shrugged lazily.

Tazuna chuckled nervously as the kunoichi extracted a scroll from her pouch and the blonde stalked over to the group's other captive, unsheathing the Ebony Blade and driving it into the ground beside Meizu's head in a single, fluid motion.

"Dibs." He muttered challengingly, before sitting down and intently eyeing Sasuke and Gouzu.

The Uchiha turned back for a moment to shoot Naruto a haughty smirk—to which the blonde returned a righteous finger—before walking towards their prisoner and crouching down to eye level with the chunin.

"You supposed to scare me, small fry?" the kiri-nin gurgled out from behind his respirator. "'Cause I've seen things that'd make you wet your cute little panties, boy!"

"…is that so?" his words a blade's edge wrapped in silk as he removed Gouzu's respirator to better understand the man. "Would you care to know what I have seen, Gouzu-san?"

"And what the fuck, exactly, could a little pissant genin like yourself have seen in this world? The fuck could you know about being a shinobi? What could you possibly–"

Gouzu halted his tirade mid-swing; the boy's eyes, they were spinning.

Dread quickly filled the chunin's stomach as realization crashed violently down upon him, washing him away in a sea of red as the famed Sharingan ensnared him. The world drained of color and faded out only to be replaced with the most sinister of blood-red moons.

Gouzu rose into the air, unable to move, trussed up on a wooden cross like a condemned man awaiting a slow execution in some eldritch horror story.

All around him people were screaming.

They would run, but it did no good.

The kiri-nin watched them die.

Spatters of blood consumed by the shadows.

"…Now," Gouzu's captor began, withdrawing a black ninjato from only God-knows-where, "would you like to tell me who it is that you and your brother are working for?"

"Fuck y–"

The chunin coughed up blood as the Uchiha ran his blade through Gouzu's right lung.

"Who sent you to kill us?"

"Nobody!" he answered back, blood pooling inside his wounded lung. "We were just—"

The blade found his left kidney on the next thrust.

"Who was your actual target? Kakashi-sensei? Tazuna-san?"

Gouzu's only answer was a scream of pain bathed in fresh blood. Why wasn't he dying yet?

"Just fucking kill me al—"

Another stab. This one right between the ribs.

"I will, Gouzu-san, once we've finished talking." Sasuke replied, raising his ninjato once more. "Now, how many others are you and your brother working with?"

_"Why won't I die…?" _The mist-nin thought weakly, more blood dripping from his mouth. "The Demon Brothers work alone, you little shit!"

The ruby-red of the boy's eyes seemed to glow all the more brighter, and Gouzu's world seemed all the more darker for it. "I don't believe you, Gouzu-san…" Sasuke raised the ninjato once more before driving it into his captive's belly. "Are you ready to supply me with the truth, yet?" he asked, twisting the blade slowly. "Our little chat lasts as long as you want it to."

And that's when it clicked for the nuke-nin.

Why he wasn't dying.

Why he hadn't blacked out from the blood loss.

Why he was wallowing in this hell of hells.

And why some scrub genin seemed to be quite adept at playing God.

_"Genjutsu…"_

"—asn't actually the same thing was it? You can't reproduce Itachi-san's jutsu, can you?"

"No, Kakashi-sensei," Sasuke answered, eyeing Gouzu's now split lip, "I can only make someone think that it's real. I lack the ability to make it reality inside someone's head; to make the pain real."

"Still…" the jonin pondered thoughtfully, "its effects seemed rather pronounced for just a suggestive genjutsu, Sasuke-kun."

"It helps that I've actually seen—lived, for that matter—what I was showing him," the Uchiha elaborated, "Felt it. Feared it. _Experienced_it. It certainly helps add to the realism."

"What the fuck did you actually show the poor bastard, Sasuke?" Naruto asked in wonder.

Even now the blonde was staring, transfixed, at Gouzu's trembling frame; he could still hear the chunin's screams of pain and anguished pleas for cessation

"Itachi's last stroll through Konoha– nothing I haven't already done myself." Sasuke answered.

"...Ah, I guess that'd do it."

"A well thought out plan, Sasuke-kun, but you should concern yourself with the credibility of intel obtained in such a fashion," the jonin lectured, motioning Sakura over with a gesture, "every individual has a unique threshold– push them too far and they become unstable and useless. Start with a lighter touch next time."

Sasuke turned back as he walked away, his face a perfect performance of stability. "Do I not appear 'stable' to you, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Point to you, Sasuke-kun." Kakashi chuckled, deciding not to point out that the Uchiha's eyes said otherwise about his stability. "Alright, Sakura-chan, you're up!" he encouraged, ruffling Sakura's hair, much to the girl's annoyance.

The kunoichi padded silently towards the captured shinobi, stopping only a foot from him and laying out her scroll. A drop of blood from a cut thumb and a dissipated smoke cloud later, and she was unfolding a rather large piece of leather.

Gouzu watched curiously as the girl unfolded the leather, revealing a set of tools that had never and would never be used for building or fixing anything.

"So," she began, reaching forward and snatching a few twigs that had fallen from the tree Gouzu was tied to, "they say I'm supposed to give you a chance before we begin– in case you change your mind." the pinkette continued, pilling the sticks in a neat order and reaching for a few dried leaves littering the ground.

"Not gonna happen, pussycat," Gouzu drawled. "Just be thankful that it ain't _me_ that's got _you_tied up." He licked his lips sinisterly. "You wouldn't like that; I don't play nice."

"Oh, dear me, Gouzu-san," the girl simpered, picking up a pair of flint stones and striking them, "surely you wouldn't hurt an innocent little flower such as myself!"

The kiri-nin growled vehemently as he watched a fresh shower of sparks found purchase amongst the tinder. "You don't wanna know the half of it, girly," he responded, now eyeing the flames crackling merrily. "And what do you plan on doing with such a small fire– that thing could barely burn a rabbit alive, much less me!"

Sakura picked up a rather dull kunai and began sloppily cutting holes in the fabric of Gouzu's clothes, exposing tanned skin to her ministrations.

The chunin hissed quietly as he felt the blade nick him here and there, the kunoichi not bothering herself with the prematurely spilt blood. A few moments later and Sakura was regarding the fresh cuts oozing blood into the split seams of Gouzu's outfit.

"I wouldn't even bother sharpening that paper cutter of yours, pussycat." The mist-nin taunted, "Thing looks like it's been through the ringer already, anyway."

Sakura caught her subject eyeing the black burn mark that consumed the majority of her kunai's surface area. "I promise you, Gouzu-san, 'Truth-teller' is tougher than he looks," she answered, setting the aforementioned kunai atop her small fire, enjoying the audible sound that followed Gouzu swallowing the lump in his throat once he realized why it was exactly that Truth-teller looked so. "Do you have anything you'd like to tell me now?"

"Fuck off," Gouzu spat back, eyeing the blindfold the girl now held warily.

"I tried," she apologized, slipping the blindfold over the chunin's eyes and tying it tight. "but you've opted to be difficult."

Gouzu heard something rustle against leather before an extremely sharp blade pierced the crook of his arm, drawing blood and carving a rather deep gash.

His breathing picked up, chest heaving against the ninja wire.

"By now, I'm sure you've realized—and seen through, no doubt—the obvious attempt to destabilize your hierarchy of needs." Gouzu heard her lecture, the pain in his arm letting him know she wasn't done slicing up his arm. "We've ticked past physiological and safety by my count, but to completely psychologically deconstruct you, we would need much more time than we currently have."

"Guess we should get on with the show, then," Gouzu grit out, ignoring the pain in his arm. "Wouldn't wanna make blondie wait too long for his turn."

"Fair enough, Gouzu-san," the girl breathed, finally satisfied with the amount of skin she had removed from the chunin's arm. The grass rustled and Gouzu felt heat near him. "Don't worry, I'll start out slow…"

He was screaming now, the white-hot kunai now pressing into his arm and the stench of his own cooking flesh burning the hairs in his nose.

"Nice and slow, right?" The girl repeated, turning the blade agonizingly slow. "Just the tip."

* * *

"You didn't tell me I was going to be limited to only three questions, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura shouted as she folded her tools back into their leather wrap.

"That's sorta the point, Sakura-chan," the jonin responded, checking over Gouzu's burns and cuts, "you never really know what will happen in the field; interruptions are quite common."

"Fair enough," the girl grumbled, sealing away her tools and tucking the scroll back into her pouch. "But now Naruto has an advantage, doesn't he?" she tacked on. "Knowing he only has three tries, he can make his questions count for more, can't he?"

"I suppose…" Kakashi hazarded, satisfied in that Gouzu wasn't going into shock from his wounds. "so, to make it fair, Naruto," the jonin turned to his blonde student who was currently dragging Meizu towards Gouzu, "you only get _two_questions."

Naruto dropped Meizu like a sack of potatoes and glared at Sakura before acknowledging his sensei. "Fine. That's all I need, anyways."

The jinchuuriki walked up to the panting Gouzu, squared up his aim, and clocked the bound man with a mighty right hook.

"'E' for effort..." he coughed, spitting out blood, "but you lack creativity, kid."

"Remember that feeling, asshole." Naruto replied, removing a bottle of smelling salts and a field mirror from his pouch. "You remember that, and then let me know when you wanna talk..."

The genin walked slowly over to Meizu, thrusting the salts under the unconscious shinobi's nose; the chunin gave a grimace and his eyes suddenly snapped open.

Naruto watched him struggle against his bonds a bit before speaking. "Rise and shine!" he exclaimed, holding the tiny mirror for everyone to see. "Your brother and I are in the middle of a game, and we need your help!"

"Go eat a dick, you little fuck– I 'm not telling you shit."

"Perfect, 'cause I'm not gonna ask you a single question, Meizu-san," Naruto returned, reaching down and removing the chunin's respirator. "I'm afraid I only have eyes for your brother over there." Naruto jerked his head in Gouzu's direction. "But I'm afraid I need your help…"

Here, the blonde made a show of cracking the mirror in two, once again reaching for Meizu's face.

"All you have to do is be as loud as possible, okay?" Naruto asked, forcing open the older ninja's mouth and placing the broken glass along his gums and teeth. "Remember that punch, Gouzu-san?"

The chunin was nervous for the first time; Meizu was his brother. Sure they'd never be bosom buddies, but they were all each other had left from their formed life. From before the failed coup d'état.

"What kind of stupid game are you playing–"

Meizu's words died as Naruto's fist came down on him in a sickening crunch of knuckles, soft flesh, and broken glass.

He didn't stop at one.

Gouzu watched as punch after punch rained down on his brother's unprotected face, cutting the insides of his mouth more and more. The chunin seethed in rage, helpless to do anything, as the genin viciously brutalized his younger brother's face.

A few minutes passed and the heaving blonde dropped his brother's mashed up face to catch his own breath. "That's quite a workout, isn't it Gouzu-san?" he asked, watching the broken glass fall from Meizu's mouth in a deluge of blood.

"…ughnn…" Meizu moaned pitifully.

His outburst earned him a kick to the ribs from the blonde. "Quiet, you." And quiet they did when Naruto extracted a kunai from its holster, and, unlike Sakura's, this one shone deathly sharp. "So… ready to talk yet, Gouzu-san? I've got a pair of fully loaded questions for ya." he asked once more, crouched halfway between torturing Meizu and questioning Gouzu.

The chunin in question deigned not to answer, though neither did he come up with a disrespectful comeback either.

"…I see…" Naruto muttered, grabbing his canteen and unscrewing the top. "Damn shame it had to come to this," he sighed, pouring the water from his canteen over Meizu's body. "He's gonna start screaming a lot," The blonde said, speaking to everyone around him as a whole. "'cause of this nerve cluster that I'm about to jam this kunai into."

Gouzu watched Naruto place the tip of his kunai into what he knew to be a cluster of nerves located near the shoulder and below the clavicle.

The kunai's tip penetrated Meizu and the chunin began screaming aloud once it found its home amongst the sensitive cluster of nerves. "Raiton: Jibashi," Naruto muttered, his right hand now pulsing with electricity, little arcs of lightning shooting from fingertip to fingertip. "Last chance, Gou—"

"Don't listen to him, brother! Fuck these worth—"

Again, Meizu was cut off mid word, his brother watching in morbid fascination, as the blonde jinchuuriki grabbed the hilt of the kunai lodged in Meizu and began running a current through it.

The water soaked into his clothes smoked as the electricity's energy danced all around him, throwing Meizu into a horrible fit of spasms as his screams blended into one long shrieking howl stuck between begging for mercy and pleading for death.

"I've got a lot of chakra, Gouzu-san," Naruto said, pausing to watch a few wisps of smoke rise from Meizu's twitching form.

Gouzu could feel the information on his tongue, yearning to escape his lips.

The blonde could see it clearly as well, not breaking eye contact with Gouzu as he resumed electrocuting Meizu.

The younger Demon Brother's pain now seemed to be beyond screaming as he appeared to only be capable of twitching and convulsing as tears leaked from his eyes and bloody drool frothed at his lips.

"The bridge builder, goddamnit, it was the bridge builder!" Gouzu shouted, finally at his limit; Meizu's brain might very well be partially cooked mush by this point. "A lot of people in Wave don't want that bridge built– one of those people hired us!"

"Excellent!" Naruto exclaimed, dropping the smoking Meizu and retrieving his kunai. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

"Just leave him alone, asshole." Gouzu answered, loathing the blonde's very existence.

"Well done, Naruto," Kakashi praised as Naruto made a pair of shadow clones to drag Meizu over to Gouzu. Without their chained gauntlets they were indeed considerably lighter, but heavy still.

Their job done, the two clones dispelled in twin puffs of smoke leaving the original to stride over towards the rest of his team.

"…Forgot your kunai," Sakura muttered grumpily, pointing over towards Meizu.

The blonde retrieved it, pausing mid step as a nearby rustle drew his attention. Lightning fast, Naruto hurled the kunai at a nearby tree, the projectile burying itself in the tree's bark.

All the members of Team 7 watched with baited breath as the bushes around the tree rustled and a small, and extremely terrified, rabbit scampered out and retreated further into the safety of the trees surrounding them.

"Lucky guess…" Naruto muttered, once again walking towards his teammates.

"…so I kinda _had_ to lie to you guys to afford the protection." Tazuna was explaining to Kakashi. "We need this bridge, please!"

"We don't abandon missions, Tazuna-san," Kakashi sighed heavily. Why was God tormenting him so? "Besides, I doubt my students would let me abandon this mission, now that they know other ninja may be involved."

"You guys will do it? Really?"

"Does everyone agree to keep going forward?" The jonin asked.

A trio of nods later and it was settled.

"Good a day as any to die," Naruto said brightly as Tazuna helped him secure the wire around Gouzu and Meizu, "'Cause _it's just a day like any other day. A beautiful day for an accident, let's say. Yes it's just a day, like any other day; just one step closer to the end of the buffet_…"

Tazuna looked at the boy strangely as he continued singing, the two of them walking back towards the other Konoha-nin.

"_La la la la la la, 'cause we're waiting here to die_– it's an old ditty they used to sing in the academy, supposed to calm the nerves." Naruto explained mid verse while his teammates checked their equipment.

"_Now it's a good time for a tasty glass of wine, let's not burden our minds with carbon dioxide _–"

"Why won't he ever shut up?" Sakura questioned rhetorically.

"—_And everyone hurry, don't sit and abide, yes, everyone hurry, we're running out of time! La la la la la la, 'cause we're waiting here to die!_"

"It's kinda catchy," the old man offered as the group walked past the kunai Naruto left in the tree. "I'm more concerned about leaving those two back there."

"ANBU will be by to pick them up, Tazuna-san," Sakura reassured the man as they continued forward, doing her best to ignore Naruto.

"_Look what a terrible mess that we'll make; the sun beats us down as we search for the shade. And, yes, it is true_—"

It was at this moment that quite a few things occurred simultaneously.

Kakashi shouted "Down!" as he pulled Tazuna to the ground with him.

Sasuke shunshin'd away and Sakura dove down as Kakashi did.

And, interestingly enough, a gargantuan blade soared through the air, perfectly level to lop off a person's head, coming to a halt as it imbedded itself in the tree near Gouzu and Meizu, just above their heads.

Naruto, however, suddenly found a vice-like grip upon his neck, a heavily muscled arm lifting him from the ground.

The blonde looked up into a pair of mad eyes.

"That was catchy, runt, I kinda liked it," the man chuckled, even as Naruto stabbed a kunai into his forearm in desperation.

"Say, small fry," the man continued, pulling the kunai free and holding it to Naruto's neck, "how's it end?"

"—_death is everyone's fate, but we've made it this far, it's time to celebrate—_"

"Ha ha ha ha ha! That's perfect, kid, just perfect!" The tall man answered, burying the kunai in his blonde captive's heart. "It's ironic that you'll miss this party, kid, it's gonna be a rager– fireworks and everything!"

The ninja's gruesome grin that threatened to tear the bandages wrapped around his face disappeared once he saw the blonde's smirking face.

"The fireworks are the best part, ninja-san," the blonde muttered. "wouldn't miss 'em for the world…"

A hairless eyebrow rose in concern.

A pair of hands made a seal, right in front of the tall man's face.

"The best part," Naruto wheezed, "is when they go 'boom.'"

The world exploded and the battle began.

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry for the horrible delay, folks. Real life and all that jazz, you know how it goes. Here's an extra long chapter to make up for it!

This one's dedicated to Eipok Kruden, for helping me with the beta work. Couldn't have done it without you.

"Waiting to Die" by Zero7


	7. It Ends with the Beginning

**Chapter VII: The Beginning is the End is the Beginning**

_"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."-_Winston Churchill

* * *

This wasn't what Zabuza had expected.

Sure, it was a given that Sharingan no Kakashi wouldn't just _give_away his client, but the nuke-nin certainly hadn't expected the jonin's genin squad to be this talented as well.

They didn't seem to have much trouble dispatching the Demon Brothers; and now, even as he fought their sensei blade to blade, they did not waver from their positions around the old bridge builder.

Hell, he still hadn't managed to track down the blonde; little bastard almost got him with that bunshin daibakuha.

Kakashi was good, Zabuza could definitely attest to the fact, but considering the fact that the Konoha-nin had a client and three genin to look after, he might as well be fighting with one arm tied behind his back and three lead weights around his neck.

Zabuza smiled, it was time to chum the waters.

"Where the fuck is Naruto?" Sakura hissed, her eyes locked on the mizu-bunshin now advancing on her, Sasuke, and Tazuna.

"Around," Sasuke replied, eyeing the kunai Naruto had left imbedded in the tree a few yards away. "We have to hold our ground and stagger our counterattack."

The bunshin suddenly picked up speed, running full tilt towards the two genin.

Sasuke withdrew several shuriken, ready to send the tiny wheels of death whizzing towards their foe. His plan, however, was altered when Naruto dropped his henge and leapt off the tree, tackling the surprised bunshin to the ground and driving a real kunai into its exposed neck.

The Uchiha's shuriken suddenly went flying, twisting in an arc aimed at another mizu-bunshin that was attempting to free Gouzu and Meizu. The projectiles zipped forward, forcing the clone to jump out of the way, but not before it was able to at least retrieve Zabuza's sword.

"Naruto!" Sasuke shouted. "Kill that bunshin before it returns the sword to the original!"

The blonde jinchuuriki changed course mid-stride and began running at the sword-carrying bunshin, hurling a trio of tagged kunai in its path. The projectiles ignited and exploded with a seal, forcing everyone back to avoid the flames. Naruto drew the Ebony Blade as his eyes scanned the immediate vicinity for threats.

"Above you!" Sakura cried as the clone suddenly burst through the smoke, sword raised high, to pounce on her teammate.

The girl watched as Naruto hastily threw his katana up to block a strike that came down with enough force to almost send the genin to his knees. She turned to Sasuke. "Go! Help him, I'll watch Tazuna-san!"

The Uchiha paused and for a moment and Sakura thought he might argue but he seemed to think better of it before nodding and rushing off to help Naruto.

Sasuke gave himself a running start before leaping to the air, shuriken flying out in arcs of wheeling death around him.

The spinning discs looped around Naruto, eviscerating the mizu bunshin as the genin leapt away to safety. The Uchiha pulled the wires taught and they wrapped around the falling great sword allowing Sasuke to begin dragging it to himself while Naruto defended it from other bunshin.

"SASUKE-KUN – LOOK OUT!"

"Forget about us, you little shit!" Meizu shouted, watching the Konoha-nin roll away, narrowly avoiding the chunin's axe-kick. His brother landed beside him, pilfered kunai held tightly in hand. "Where the fuck did you bastards hide our gauntlets!" Gouzu demanded in a snarl.

Sasuke continued to watch them with a curious stare before pointing to the sky.

"They're mine now!" Naruto shouted, hurling a hail of kunai as he fell to the ground. The Demon Brothers were forced to leap out of the way, regrouping in a position to better keep an eye on all of their opponents. The blonde indicated a scroll hanging from his waist. "My reward for breaking that tender ass of yours, gumby!" Naruto leered tauntingly at Gouzu.

"I'm gonna fucking kill you if–"

"Fuck your story, gumby!" A second Naruto shouted, leaping from the trees poised to swing the Ebony Blade in a wide arc.

Sasuke and Naruto's eyes widened as Zabuza skewered the kage bunshin in mid-air with his enormous sword. "Fall back to the river!" The jonin ordered before turning to the two genin. "See you kiddies there!"

He leapt at Naruto and Sasuke, blade lashing out in a devastatingly wide arc that narrowly failed in bisecting the two teens at the waist. Their world had now rapidly dissolved into a terrifying blur of steel and chopped earth, each doing their best to avoid losing a limb to the man's never-ending barrage of swipes.

"Sasuke, fall back to Sakura's position!" Naruto shouted, rolling under another horizontal swing and creating another kage bunshin and hoping Zabuza would strike it and cause it to explode.

"One step ahead of y—gurk!"

Naruto watched, horrified, as the great sword found purchase in the junction between Sasuke's neck and left shoulder, cleaving almost all the way through his body.

"Too slow, Uchiha…" Zabuza drawled, his strength the only thing holding the dying boy up.

Sasuke turned to his killer with the same grin he had leveled on Naruto. He chuckled wetly as blood poured from his mouth.

"'Boom.'" he quoted.

Naruto was sent rocketing backwards until his body crashed into a tree. His world exploded into pain as he fell to the grass in a shower of bark, leaving him with nothing to do but wait for his broken hip to mend so that he could stop screaming in agony and walk properly again. "Fuckmefuckmefuckme—FUCK ME!"

"You ought to keep it down, moron..." Sasuke muttered, leaning down and holding Naruto's leg in place so that the bones restructured themselves properly, "…a ninja bears his burdens in honorable silence–"

"—FUCK YOU!—AAAAAH!"

There was a sickening pop that even Sakura and Tazuna heard.

"—and determined dignity," Sasuke finished, helping his blonde teammate to his feet.

"That may be, but I still hate you with every fucking ounce of my _entire goddamn being_, Sasuke…" Naruto seethed. "What's our next move?"

"Secure Sakura and Tazuna," the Uchiha said and at once and they both turned to head off, "then we'll rendezvous with Kakashi."

The pair warily set off to where they had left Sakura to guard Tazuna, each genin keeping their eyes out for another ambush. Sasuke palmed another handful of shuriken and Naruto kept the Ebony Blade aloft, ready to lash out at would-be attackers.

Naruto was discovering that he rather liked the high he got from the combined stress and adrenaline; the thought of fighting to keep a grip on his very life was exhilarating to him and fueling him to fight harder, move faster—

_"—be better."_

Sasuke just felt…

_"…alive."_

"Yo!" Kakashi waved when he saw his remaining two students approaching. "Did you guys make it out alright?"

"We're fine… now." Sasuke said.

"Thanks to my own healing, asshole! You're lucky we both knew I would heal," the jinchuuriki grumbled.

The Uchiha's eyes widened slightly. "I didn't know you were going to heal, per se," he shrugged, "but it was certainly a risk I was willing to take."

"Moving along now," Kakashi spoke up, forestalling what he was sure was going to be another long and animosity-filled rant from Naruto, "what's the worst of it from your end?"

"The guy with the sword managed to free the two chunin," Naruto muttered.

"Figured as much," the jonin nodded. "Did everyone also catch where they were headed next?"

"River." Sasuke grunted.

"Points to you, favorite student!" Kakashi simpered mockingly, secretly enjoying the looks of insecurity Naruto and Sakura exchanged. "Can anyone tell me why they might do this?"

"Um…" Sakura began before finding her voice, "being from Kiri, they probably have suiton affinities, right Kakashi-sensei?" The girl waited for an encouraging nod before concluding, "Then a river would give them the tactical advantage."

"Correct, Sakura-chan!" He patted her on the head in a supreme showing of condescendence and then turned to address the team as a whole. "So we'll have to be extra careful to avoid being engaged too close to the water. Expect our enemies to be capable of running and fighting on the water as well."

Naruto let out a low, appreciative whistle. "Do we have a game plan, then, Sensei?"

"You three will stay back and guard Tazuna-san. Kill the Demon Brothers if you can, but don't stray from the client!" the jonin ordered, stressing the latter half, "I'll handle Zabuza myself."

"Zabuza?" Naruto asked, "Momochi? As in Demon of the Mist?"

"Correct, Naruto."

The blonde whistled again. "Fuck me… first mission, too…" he muttered.

"As long as the three of you stick together," Kakashi returned, motioning his students to form around Tazuna and move out, "and follow my orders, we'll get out of this more-or-less in one piece." He paused and looked back at his students, grinning. "…alive at least!"

The three genin fell into step around the old bridge builder and began moving forward in formation with Kakashi at the lead. Everyone moved in silence, Tazuna's clumsy footsteps and frantic breathing the only noises heard alongside the softly rustled grass that murmured in little whispers of promised death.

As they advanced Naruto thought he could hear the sounds of moving water and his grip on the Ebony Blade tightened instinctively. A chill brushed across him and the air began to grow pregnant with moisture, almost soaking his clothes through.

Nervous sweat intermingled with great rolling beads of condensed water as Team 7 advanced slowly into a mist that was far too thick to be naturally occurring.

Kakashi halted. "Everyone go silent unless absolutely necessary. Zabuza specializes in _Sairento Kiringu_."

"Kage bunshin no jutsu," Naruto whispered before twelve copies poofed into existence and took off into the mist in various directions, though a few took to the trees surrounding the now mist-covered road.

Team 7 continued it's advance into the mist, each member growing progressively more soaked as the mist seemed to cling to them, almost in a caressing manner, offering empty promises of shelter.

Naruto could barely make out the form of Tazuna, who stood only three feet from him, as well as that of Sasuke bringing up the rear. Kakashi and Sakura might as well be nonexistent, the conjured mist was hiding them from view so effectively.

This had to be Zabuza's doing; lead them to the river and pick apart Team 7 one by one and collect the stragglers by the banks.

But Naruto was no slouch, Hayate-sensei had taught him well.

He was hunter, not hunted.

Never again.

Somewhere in the distance a clone popped out of existence, its last memories of a kunai bursting from the grey miasma flooding his brain, and Naruto began padding that way, leaving three clones in his place next to Tazuna.

"…_so many choices_…"

The mist itself seemed to call out to him, though Naruto knew he wasn't the only one who had heard the voice.

"_I could slit your throat_…" the Void offered and Naruto felt himself die, bisected by the jonin's giant sword in another clone's last memories.

Someone near him took a clumsy step and gave himself away; Naruto advanced closer, sword gripped tightly.

"_Carve out your heart, maybe_?" the Void asked and Naruto paused as birds began chirping.

They grew louder and the hairs on Naruto's neck began to rise through the marsh of sweat collecting around them.

Death screamed at the blonde and he dove to the ground just as the enormous blade sprang forth from the mist, poised to lop off his head.

Light blinded him as the incessant chirping drowned out his other senses–

Kakashi burst through the clone, seemingly holding a bolt of lightning in his hand, sending steaming water everywhere before hastily disappearing back into the mist.

Naruto was alone once again.

Off in the distance Sasuke grunted and water splashed.

Another kage bunshin poofed out of existence after catching the briefest glimpses of Meizu's bloodied face before the chunin crushed its head like a melon.

Naruto allowed himself a small smile as he continued his advance.

"…_do you fear death_…?" the Void queried. "_You march freely into death's embrace_…"

The blonde ducked under the great sword's initial swipe, lashing out viciously with his katana.

The mizu bunshin blocked and a clone moved into place. Naruto grit his teeth with the effort of holding the chakra construct back while keeping aware of the onrushing chunin attempting to flank him; timing would be crucial.

"DIE!" Meizu shouted, leaping from the void at Naruto, causing the blonde to utilize his kawarimi with the placed kage bunshin.

The clone and the original switched places, the former letting Zabuza's attack hack him out of existence in a poof of smoke.

Meizu landed with a confused look, eyes widening in surprise as the Zabuza clone dissolved in a splash of falling water. "—Urk!—"

"That's gotta hurt," a clone tsked, eyeing the katana sticking into the dying chunin's ribcage and holding a kunai to his neck. "I'll send your brother along shortly," it added, drawing the blade across Meizu's neck and spilling a fresh torrent of thick steaming blood.

A dragon roared in the distance and the mist was ripped away in an instant, funneling to the massive beast as it rose from the river behind Zabuza, snapping its gargantuan jaws at Kakashi.

The Konoha jonin's hands became twin blurs as they trained through a set of seals before his own dragon rose to meet the oncoming tsunami of death that was Zabuza's jutsu.

Naruto marveled at the display of raw power from the two combatants as the colliding techniques created a massive wave that surged past the river's banks.

"YOU!"

The blonde whipped his head around and saw Gouzu standing over the body of his slain brother, the surviving chunin looked quite mad with rage.

"I'M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU!" he shouted, brandishing the two kunai he seemingly pilfered from the battlefield.

The blonde tossed his sword down and began running full-pelt towards the onrushing Kiri-nin, leaping at his unsuspecting attacker and wrapping him in a bear hug, rendering his arms useless by pinning them to the chunin's sides.

Several taught wires pulled themselves tight around Gouzu and the blonde, trapping them together at the end of Sasuke's shinobi wire that the Uchiha held in his teeth.

Gouzu saw the Uchiha's breast swell with chakra–

"I did him in like a little piggy set to market!" Gouzu's head whipped around and the blonde broke his nose with a headbutt. "Slit his throat, ear to ear!" Another headbutt.

The mist-nin turned his head groggily once more and saw fire racing down the wire from the Uchiha's mouth–

"Aaand…" he turned back around and received another headbutt that bloomed stars in his eyes. "Here's the best part!"

Fire engulfed them both and Gouzu felt his skin burn away for the briefest of agonizing seconds, the maniac blonde laughing the whole time. The bastard looked him in the eye, the last thing Gouzu would ever see in this life, and spoke its final word.

"Boom."

* * *

Sakura shook her head at Naruto's theatrics. "He never learns, does he?" the pinkette asked rhetorically as she watched the blonde's clone finish what Sasuke's jutsu started by wiping all existence of the former chunin's existence from the world.

"…I guess you get credit for that one, Sasuke," Naruto conceded as the pair landed next to Sakura, "you technically would have killed him even if the clone didn't explode."

The Uchiha nodded in acceptance–

"—but I still get credit for the assist!" the blonde tacked on with a self assuring nod.

"Hn."

"If you two are quite done!" Sakura interrupted pointedly, "perhaps we can move a little closer and see how Kakashi-sensei's doing?"

The three genin looked over to the river and saw their sensei exchange a round of blows with the nuke-nin, a metallic _clang!_ringing out after each clash.

"Seems to be doing okay," Naruto assessed. "What about you?" He pointed to Sakura. "Any water clones try to hassle you or Tazuna-san?"

"Just a few. One of the Demon Brothers had a go for it, but Sasuke fought him off." She reported, eyes trained on her sensei as he danced round the massive sword like some morbid interpretation of a ballet recital.

The onslaught of water clones seemed to have died down as their opponent was now diverting his full attention to Kakashi. The famed Konoha jonin of a thousand jutsu was currently living up to every inch of his legendary reputation.

He was having no trouble copying every jutsu Zabuza threw at him and throwing it right back with an equal level of proficiency.

The copy-nin's Sharingan was having no problems predicting what his body was going to do before his mind had even decided to do it.

That, and the masked ninja seemed unusually determined to live. Much more so than the average shinobi, in fact.

"Still got a chance to hand over the old man," Zabuza grunted as he lashed out with a kick that forced the Konoha jonin back. "Your brats haven't broken anything that can't be replaced… yet, Kakashi-san."

"Nice to know how you view your teammates, Zabuza-san," the copy-nin seemed to sneer, flinging a trio of kunai at the muscular nuke-nin. "Interchangeable, right?"

"Don't get high and mighty with me, copy ninja!" the bandaged shinobi growled through his wrappings. "You fought in the last war– you remember how it was!" he lashed out with his massive sword, narrowly missing Kakashi's chest. "We're just bodies for the _thinkers _to throw at each other in their chess-game-turned-real-life!"

There was a break in the combat, Zabuza and Kakashi suddenly finding themselves standing roughly six feet apart from each other as each jonin ran the other over with a critical eye.

"You didn't know the first thing about the Demon Brothers," Zabuza spat. "Disgrace to the name shinobi—all momentum and no direction, save to propel their own selfish desires of infamy." The former Swordsman of the Mist raised his great sword and set the hulking thing on his shoulder. "Hollow warriors crumble like poorly sculpted statues– just a matter of time, Kakashi-san."

"Your overall attitude still leaves the casual observer wanting for more, Zabuza-san," Kakashi returned, raising his kunai. "You could just let us pass, you're a nuke-nin, how loyal can you be to your current employer?"

"Not the point," Zabuza answered, shaking his head. "My contracts get fulfilled, no questions asked." The former Kiri-nin readied his stance and grinned as he felt an exit strategy present itself in the ripples of the water below him. "You could just let me kill the old fart now—it's gonna happen, regardless of what happens here today—might as well get it over with…"

"Not gonna happen, Zabuza-san…"

"…an impasse," the Kiri-nin snorted, "how _cliché_…" Inwardly he grinned and made a seal.

Kakashi's retort died on his tongue and his eyes widened as Naruto leapt from the river's shallow depths, bursting through its glossy surface like a summoned shadow birthed from the running water's macabre ripples.

There was a poof of smoke and several more Narutos leapt from the water and wrapped themselves around Zabuza, effectively immobilizing the swordsman.

"One too many times to the cookie jar, kid…" the missing nin grunted, struggling against his "bindings" as well as with the effort of staying afloat on the now choppy river with all the additional weight.

The real Naruto rose slowly from the river behind the jonin, Ebony Blade poised to carve out the femoral arteries left vulnerable by Zabuza's higher stance atop the river itself.

Water dripped off him in rivulets, gravity seeing the cool liquid back to its source as the blonde genin waded into position to strike a fatal blow. Naruto readied his katana–

A pair of maddened eyes found him, just at their owner chewed through his bandages and lunged forward, tearing out the throat of the clone wrapped around his chest. "Gotcha!"

The clone poofed out of existence and the jonin was gifted with enough range of motion to form one final seal. "You got too greedy, kid–"

—Naruto began frantically swimming away—

"—let the adults finish talking before interrupting next time, brat… _boom_!"

The resulting explosion from Zabuza's bunshin daibakuha sent Naruto rocketing from the river's waters in a wet, smoking heap that crashed on the banks in a deluge of fire, river water, and displaced earth in consequence of the chakra-fuelled explosion.

"Fuuuuuuck!" he howled, nursing his shattered shoulder—it had taken the brunt of the impact—and cursing the nuke-nin to the foulest depths of hell.

"Students—and Tazuna-san, for that matter—" Kakashi and the rest of Team 7 entered his tilted world view, the jonin gesturing sadly to Naruto's haphazard condition, "—this is a prime example of why it is essential that everyone listen to my orders!

"Had Naruto stayed out of the fight, he would not be in such considerable agony at this very moment." The jonin watched his masked student quiver in pain as his shoulder reset itself. "No," there was a loud pop and Naruto screamed once more, "he would be whole and unharmed like you two are– Tazuna-san!"

The bridge builder gave a startled yelp of surprise. "What's that…?"

"I'd like a word, if you don't mind," the jonin requested, already walking away, "you two," he called back at his students, "bring Naruto along, will you?"

In the distance, a frog leapt into the river's waters with a dull splash.

Naruto gave one last wheezing shriek of agony before finally fainting from the pain as the pieces of his shattered scapula began to reset themselves under the reconstructed ball-and-socket joint that was his freshly mended shoulder.

Sakura and Sasuke shared equal looks of resentment before reluctantly gathering their teammate and hurrying after their sensei.

* * *

"…Gah!"

Naruto sprang upright, knocking the jar of smelling salts away from his nose. The blonde glared reproachfully at his sensei before rising, ignoring Sakura's snickers. "What did I miss?" the blonde asked, rotating his still-tender shoulder gingerly.

"You've only been out for ten-or-so minutes, Naruto," Kakashi filled in helpfully, "Zabuza used the explosion to make his retreat, but I expect we'll be seeing plenty more of our new friend from Mist. We're getting ready to make the last leg of our land portion of the journey." The copy-nin pointed south. "According to Tazuna-san, there will be transportation to Wave at the mouth of the river, a few miles from here."

"Can we trust him?" Naruto asked, eyeing the old man suspiciously, "he's already lied before…"

"Oh, we had a little talk about trust," the jonin dismissed and Naruto heard the bridge builder gulp loudly, "the circle of trust has been reestablished now that Tazuna-san has witnessed what happens to the untrustworthy…"

The blonde nodded. "Good. Are we ready to move out, then?"

Kakashi nodded in return. "Alright team," he paused to let everyone gather 'round, "we're going to be heading to the pier so that we can depart for Wave Country. If I've guessed right, Zabuza made his exit when he did because he was beginning to run low on chakra like I was." Another pause and the jonin scratched his chin thoughtfully. "So I don't think we'll need to worry over another attack before we reach Wave– though it was odd that they even met us this deep into Fire Country…"

"Maybe there's been an intel leak, sensei…" Sakura offered, eyes darting over towards their client.

"Oh, I don't think the web is spun that deeply, Sakura-chan," Kakashi said with a dismissive wave towards Tazuna. "It's more likely they've been tracking his movements and caught up to him just a bit too late. Regardless," he made sure to address the team as a whole, "we should _all_ be on full alert at _all_ times."

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei," the three genin chorused.

"Oh, how adorable you three are when you do that!" he mocked, making sure to grab Naruto in a condescending noogie, "And don't think I've forgotten about beating all of you—_especially_ you for interfering, Naruto—extra thoroughly later!" he released his student and the blonde shot him a baleful glare. "Though, from a tactical standpoint, I am rather pleased."

He gave them a thumbs-up, like a teacher would give a student who'd managed to color "inside the lines" for the first time.

Kakashi took the lead, marching everyone down the river's banks while the genin took their positions around Tazuna.

They walked on in silence for a while, each lost in their own thoughts about the preceding conflict. Naruto contemplated how easy it was to dispatch the two chunin, and found himself agreeing with Zabuza's assessment of them. It did, however, beg the question if the blonde would be able to deal with a _real_ chunin intent on killing him. Naruto smiled, he was confident Zabuza would provide more willing bags of organs to figure it out before everything was all said and done. Satisfied, he turned his thoughts inward once more, _"Is there anybody in there…?"_

Sasuke was watching his sensei lead them on, his Sharingan recording every minute detail of the older shinobi's gait. It was the first time he'd actually killed somebody. One to Itachi's hundreds. Sasuke "hn'd" to himself; he would need to practice much more in order to reach Itachi's levels of both efficiency and proficiency. The genin wrinkled his nose in a vain attempt to rid himself from the stench of cooked flesh. Burning the bodies to dispose of them had been most… unpleasant, Sasuke now saw the appeal in simply leaving them as rotting warnings for other would-be assailants. A sigh escaped him, perhaps Naruto was right? Just kill them all and be done with it.

Team 7's lone kunoichi ran over the battle with a critical eye, first determining that she had sufficiently protected their client as mandated by Kakashi-sensei's orders. She had dispatched a clone herself, and Sasuke had been able to help her with others. Yet the girl wondered how things would have turned out had she gone to help Naruto in fighting off the Demon Brothers. Would she have faired as well as Sasuke, or even Naruto for that matter? Looking back on it all, she definitely felt her variety in jutsu left much to be desired; she definitely didn't have any area-of-effect attacks like she knew Naruto and Sasuke did. That would all need to change, soon.

"_If anyone could hear me, they'd think I was crazy…"_ Naruto continued to mull over his thoughts as his conclusions left him further and further frustrated, answers not coming to him in a ready fashion. _"I probably am crazy, aren't I? …wait, crazy people don't think they're crazy, right?"_ Naruto stepped over a rock and chanced a glance at Sasuke. _"He's the crazy one, with that attitude of his– living in denial." _The blonde nodded reassuringly, _"I _know_ I'm crazy, so that means I'm sane with rational–"_

"You killed somebody today," Tazuna suddenly spoke, "You know that, right?"

"Kill't the fuck out of 'em, Tazuna-san, like a farmer would a fat pig for dinner. I remember, I was there," the genin answered.

"A _pig_?" the old man repeated incredulously. "Just like that?" he snapped his fingers in time with the last word.

"Just like _that_!" Naruto parroted back with a snap of his own, "I've put more thought into wiping shit from my sandals, Tazuna-san. My main concern is with ensuring my ability to dispatch much more competent opponents– securing the next kill."

"The next one? Already?" the man asked, looking faint.

"Shinobi careers of note are built on mausoleums of the dead." Naruto pointed at the jonin leading them closer to the small pier at the river's mouth, "how many people have you killed, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Much more than Tazuna-san would be comfortable with knowing, Naruto," the jonin called back, not even bothering to tear his eyes away from _Icha Icha Paradise_.

"See?" Naruto reiterated. "It's just part of the job. The real trick is staying alive long enough to make a real dent in the history books. Like Kakashi has, like Zabuza has– that's a ninja's definition of success!"

"…fair enough…" Tazuna tacked on, not sure what else to say.

"Though, I admit," Naruto continued, "Sasuke's kill was more impressive than mine—flashier, too—but there's a subtle science found in _sairento kiringu_ that I find often goes underappreciated these days."

"So that was the same technique that Zabuza was using." Sasuke stated, rather than asked, in the tone of voice that demands an answer less the person asked look like a liar.

"…mmmm, that depends, Sasuke," Naruto grinned behind his mask, "what can you tell me about that mist we saw?"

"Hn." The Uchiha turned from his teammate to watch Kakashi break formation to go speak with the man operating the small boat that would take them to Wave. "It was saturated with Chakra, to the point where it effectively hid the clones from my Sharingan." Sasuke paused before adding, "Seems like more chakra yields denser mist."

"Sounds perfect," Naruto answered, savoring the information and its possibilities, "don't suppose you caught the hand signs for it, did ya?"

"No. The mist was too thick, though I suspect that Zabuza-san might not need hand signs to activate it."

Naruto nodded, tucking that tidbit of information away for later. "Thanks. As for _sairento kiringu_, it's more of a technique for assassination as opposed to an actual jutsu. Anyone can learn it; it mainly revolves on moving about stealthily. Though, to combine it with the kirigakure no jutsu…" he left the thought unanswered in the air and turned to Sakura. "You could always hear the Demon Brothers, but not the clones, right?"

"Yeah," the kunoichi nodded, "I couldn't keep track of you, either."

"That's what I thought. Zabuza clearly never shared that little technique with his cohorts, I wonder why?" Naruto asked as the group came to a stop at the edge of the pier, having finally caught up with Kakashi.

"Everyone all set to go? Our captain here," he gestured to a scrawny man wearing a straw hat, "has expressed his eagerness to set sail for the island—"

"—before we all _fuckin'_ die, man! I told you—"

"—_before we all fucking die_, if at all possible. Are there any objections?" he asked the group as a whole, drowning out the captain's dark mutterings of dismemberment and death.

There were no objections so Kakashi offered a mock salute.

"Well alright, then! Everybody squeeze in, we're going to Wave!" he exclaimed, standing aside to allow his students and their client to begin fighting for prime seating in the rickety dingy.

The captain lit up a cigarette. "Fuckin' ninja, man… I don't need this shit…"

An exhaled lungful of smoke later and they were off.

"Your cigarette smells funny," Naruto exclaimed, feigning ignorance in a performance that was bought by no one.

"Wha-? Oh! Uh…" the captain spluttered, eyeing Kakashi queerly.

The blonde burst out laughing and reached for the joint, "I'm just fucking with you, man! Lemme see that…"

Sakura snorted and found herself once again rolling her eyes as she watched the blonde pull down his mask.

Naruto smiled as smoke rose in lifting whorls from the corners of his mouth, likening him to a slumbering dragon, and he passed the joint back to its owner.

Yes, being a ninja most certainly did have its perks.

"_S.W.A.G.," _he thought with a content smile, enjoying the gentle rocking of the boat, _"Stuff we all get!"_

* * *

"Home, sweet home…" Tazuna said as the group, after several more hours of hiking—thankfully uninterrupted by Zabuza—came upon a lone cottage set on the outskirts of a port village.

The cottage was modest with its two stories and plantation shutters. Naruto thought that the constant sea breeze must keep it rather cool in the hotter months. The grass was thick and the trees hearty, giving the location the feeling of a comforting escape one might retreat to when looking to escape the helter skelter of everyday life.

Looking down on the modest village that unfurled a half-mile or so away, Naruto was not yet sure how he felt about being _trapped_ in this place, as opposed to just visiting.

A young woman pulled the teen from his musings by rushing from the house and flinging herself into Tazuna's arms.

"Father!" she cried, squeezing the man tighter, "I was so worried!"

"Tsunami-chan," the man mumbled into her chestnut hair, "I told you not to worry– here I am, safe and sound, thanks to our guests from Konoha."

The young woman turned a pair of large eyes wet with gratitude to Team 7, bowing low. "Thank you all _so_ much," she said sincerely, "please make yourselves at home for as long as necessary. "

Naruto's stomach gave a loud growl, causing the blonde to scratch his head in embarrassment. "Oh, don't mind me, Miss…?"

"Tsunami," she replied, waving him off, "and it's no trouble at all. You must be starving, all of you!" She eyed all of them speculatively, "why doesn't everyone come in, and we'll have dinner. It's almost ready."

"That sounds perfect, Tsunami-san," Kakashi spoke up. "My name is Kakashi Hatake and these are my students—Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha—" he pointed out each genin as he spoke their name, "and we'll do our best not to impose."

"I'm sure it won't be an imposition at all, Kakashi-san!" the girl chirped brightly.

The jonin allowed himself a small grin; women were fun sometimes. "I'm just going to have a brief word with my students—regarding security and other mundane assignments—and then we'll be right along!"

"I'll try to have everything ready by then!" she assured, taking her father's hat and leading him inside, the door swinging shut behind them.

She immediately rounded on the beleaguered man. "Are you sure you're okay?" Tsunami asked again.

The bridge builder gave her a loving pat on the head as he made his way to the refrigerator. "I am, Tsunami-chan, I promise. These ninja… they're good at what they do. I used to think it was us that had to fear Gatou, now…"

"'Now?'" she repeated, "what now, father?"

Tazuna took a long pull from his fresh sake bottle. "Now… after watching those four, I'm not so sure we're the ones who should be afraid anymore…"

"What do you mean?" Tsunami called from the kitchen, attending the various dishes she had been preparing.

"The way they fought," he muttered, bones creaking as he sank into his favorite armchair. "They're all killers, the whole lot of them." He took another comforting swig, "Nice enough, sure, but they'd gladly slit each and everyone of our throats—with a smile, no less—if someone paid them to do it."

Tsunami frowned and added more salt to the fish she was preparing. "But they're just doing their jobs, Dad… it's nothing personal!"

"Yeah, that might be so, Tsunami-chan, but it's a terrible job– the kind that has to get done for the world to keep spinning along properly, despite the fact that no one likes to do it, much less admit it gets done," the bridge builder assented, "but it doesn't change the fact that I've gone and hired the people crazy enough to jump at the opportunity, rather than some of the ones who would murder with more reluctance."

"My ears are burning!" a voice called from the doorway and Tazuna watched the blonde shinobi enter his house alone.

"Naruto-kun!" his daughter exclaimed. "Where's the rest of your team, is everything alright?"

"Fine, fine," he waved off, having a seat at their dining table, "they just went ahead to scout out the village– disguised, of course."

"And we got stuck with you, huh?" Tazuna grunted, rising up and moving to sit with Naruto at the table.

"Sure did!" the blonde chirped, snatching the bottle from Tazuna and lowering his mask to take a swig. "Nice house, by the way. Plenty of room to stretch out, you don't get that with an apartment."

"You don't," Tazuna grumbled, snatching back his sake bottle. "Ease up on the drinking—and no smoking that funny shit around Inari-kun—while you're here." He leveled Naruto with his sternest glare. "I'd hate it if he picked up on your bad habits– he's a handful enough already."

"MOM!"

On cue, a shadow clone came down holding a struggling boy by his suspenders while the small child flailed about desperately.

The clone dropped the boy at his mother's feet and turned to Naruto, saluting smartly. "Sweep of the house complete, boss. " The chakra construct eyed the small kid oddly, "Found him hiding in a closet upstairs. The rest of us are gonna take up positions in the trees and sweep the property as a whole."

"Sounds good," Naruto nodded, a fresh set of memories flooding his brain as one of the clones with Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke dispelled. "Keep me updated."

"Ten-four, big guy!" The clone rogered, dispelling itself so the others were updated.

"Inari-kun, what were you doing upstairs?" Tsunami asked, satisfied that her son had been returned to her unharmed.

"Nothing, just minding my own business!" he spat out defiantly, raising an accusing finger at Naruto. "_He_ interrupted _me_!"

"Clone says you leapt out at it from the upstairs linen closet…" Naruto retorted as he lazily examined a kunai.

"No I didn't, you liar!" Inari shouted, flushing red with embarrassment.

"_Inari-kun_." Tsunami hissed, using that age-old tone that mothers had to stop their sons cold. "Go back upstairs and wash up for dinner!"

"But I wanna talk to grampa–"

"_Now_!"

The boy shivered, threw Naruto one last glare of loathing, and scampered back upstairs and out of sight.

"So what's for dinner, Tsunami-san?" Naruto asked, embarrassed because of his stomach's now insistent grumbling.

"Fish, mostly, we usually eat what's in season. I hope you're hungry!" the woman said with a knowing smile.

"Famished."

"Excellent!" she smiled, giving Naruto a sly wink, before peering out a window. "And I think your sensei and teammates have returned, too!"

Naruto glanced up and indeed did spy the tall form of his sensei making its way back towards the modest cottage. "Damn shame, we were having such a nice time, too…"

"Oh, I'm sure they're not bad at all," the woman admonished jokingly. "I think maybe you just like being the center of attention, Naruto-kun!"

"Me?" the genin asked in mock innocence. "But I'm so shy; Sasuke's the attention-whore, not me!"

"Somehow I doubt that," Tsunami challenged, stirring a wok-full of sautéing vegetables. "Sasuke-kun doesn't strike me as the type to starve for attention, he isn't exactly the… _loquacious_ type either, is he?"

"I find dignified silence preferable over spouting a never-ending stream of nonsense that serves no purpose save the irritation of all those unfortunate enough to find themselves subject to it." The Uchiha answered, slinking into the room and taking a seat next to Naruto. "You'll understand after you've had more… _exposure_ to Naruto, here, Tsunami-san."

"Up yours and a bag of dicks, Sasuke," the jinchuuriki returned cheerfully. "You have all the personality and emotions of a pet rock– and not the fancy kind, either."

"That's lovely table-side conversation," Sakura deadpanned as she strode in with Kakashi, both sitting down at the table with Naruto, Sasuke, and Tazuna. "Exactly what a girl wants to hear before sitting down to a meal."

"You let me worry about what it is, exactly, that you want, Sakura-chan," Naruto dismissed, eyeing the various dishes their hostess was now setting out upon the table. "We both know you benefit from a 'hands-on' experience anyway!" he added, in spite of himself, wiggling his fingers lasciviously at the kunoichi.

The pinkette brushed brightly and Tsunami smiled, enjoying their banter. Foul-mouthed as it was, it made for a nice change from the woebegone and macabre thoughts that usually filled their lives in recent memory. "Inari-kun! Come and eat!" she called up the stairs, turning back around to make her way over to the table, taking the seat opposite her father. "I hope you all enjoy everything!"

"It smells delicious, Tsunami-san," Kakashi praised, his visible eye straying from a steaming platter of fish briefly to watch Inari fill the last vacant seat at the table, "Thank you, it's certainly more than we deserve!"

"It was no trouble at all!" the young woman blushed, beginning to serve herself as the others did so, "how was your inspection of the village, Kakashi-san?"

"Most illuminating, Tsunami-san," the jonin answered. "Did you happen to know, for example, that this village lacks a police force? It seems as if Gatou has managed to bring the entire department under his control and fill it with his own men!"

"I– father… did you know about this?" the girl asked incredulously.

"I didn't," Tazuna answered with a shake of his head "Kaiza told me awhile back he suspected something along those lines… I never realized it'd be this bad."

"Furthermore, it would appear that Gatou is skimming the best supplies for himself and his men as soon as goods come off ships at the harbor." Kakashi continued, somehow managing to eat without removing his mask, much to Naruto's jealousy.

"Will it be safe for my father to keep working on the bridge?" the woman asked worriedly.

"It will, but I'm going to ask that he take an additional two days off so my team and I can finish setting up our defenses and investigating the village." Kakashi stated, turning towards Tazuna.

"That won't be a problem, the men'll appreciate the extra time off." The bridge builder nodded in agreement.

"What's the damn point!" Inari burst out, slamming down his chopsticks. "What makes you think Gatou won't kill you, too!"

The elite jonin leveled the young boy with a haunting stare. "What makes you think we won't kill Gatou first?"

The man's stare frightened Inari but somehow robbed him of the conviction to contradict the masked man's bold statement. Unsure of himself, Inari chose to retreat up the stairs into his room.

"Oh my… excuse me, won't you?" Tsunami excused herself before bustling up the stairs after her son.

"Kid's kind of a Debbie-downer, no?" Sakura asked of Tazuna.

"He's had a rough life. Gatou had his father publically executed," Tazuna shook his head wearily, "it was awful."

"It's alright, Tazuna-san." Kakashi said, rising from the table. "Students! Follow me, please. We'll be outside if you need anything, Tazuna-san."

Tazuna returned to his thoughts and sake as Team 7 marched out the front door of his house.

"So what's the plan," Naruto asked eagerly once the door had swung shut behind them all.

"Tonight, the three of you are going to enter the village and take out the seven targets I had your clones begin tailing, Naruto," Kakashi began. "I'm going to stay here and watch our client, once you three return, I'll make my way to the docks…"

Naruto nodded in understanding. "How bad is the village itself?"

"Not so good," the jonin admitted with a sigh, "Gatou's presence is much more set than I had anticipated– and I'm sure Zabuza's failure to kill us will only encourage him to start sending more men."

"But, sensei…" Sakura spoke up, "should we attack him further, if the result will only be increased resistance?"

"Normally I'd agree, Sakura-chan, but Gatou's going to send more men regardless of what we do tonight." The jonin withdrew a kunai and made a shadow clone. "So, we might as well strike first, and leave him a nice pile of bodies as a welcoming gift. At the very least it'll demoralize his men somewhat."

Naruto was openly grinning by this point, his face stretching the fabric of his mask in a perverse imitation of a shadow.

"What about Zabuza? Is it likely Gatou will employ more shinobi?" Sasuke asked, Sharingan glinting in the setting sun.

"It's hard to say. He's been using nuke-nin so far—probably to save money—and you can't exactly mix nuke-nin with actual contracted shinobi." Kakashi reasoned. "Finding additional nuke-nin willing to work with someone like Zabuza would prove even more difficult. We'll assume civilians will make up the majority of our opponents."

"Details for tomorrow-us to worry about!" Naruto ushered, eager to get the operation underway; he had hours of meditating to look forward too once they were done. "Let's get this party started already!"

"Fine, fine… everyone disguise yourself, give me your hitai-ates," the jonin collected the forehead protectors and watched his students henge their visible features. "Good. Now, your first target is the police chief we saw at the station…"

* * *

"Dead!" the tiny man roared, like a mosquito pestering a gorilla, "What do you mean they're dead!"

"That they've died, Gatou." Zabuza grunted testily. "The old man managed to contract some pretty decent Konoha shinobi and they managed to capture and eventually kill the Demon Brothers."

"And they beat you, _too_?" Gatou demanded, nearly frothing at the mouth in rage. "I thought you were the goddamned 'Demon of the Mist!' Not some worthless lug of–"

The man's tirade died in his throat as he suddenly found the ex mist-nin holding him about the throat, threatening to throttle him. "I'd watch my fucking mouth, if I was you… and I'd stay put if I were you two," Zabuza called to the two ronin lapdogs Gatou kept near him.

Both men paused, hands inches away from their katana, as an ice-cold sensation filled the room. Their hands returned harmlessly to their sides as a long senbon pressed into each of their necks.

"It would be wise of you to heed Zabuza-sama's advice…" the masked shinobi whispered softly.

"Now," the jonin began again, "would you like to hear my plan, Gatou? Guerilla warfare is the only way you're gonna win this…"

"W-what do you have in mind…?" Gatou stammered as Zabuza finally set him down.

The bandaged ninja smiled. "Well, you're gonna need a lot more men to patrol the village, for starters."

"O-of course!" the man squeaked. "What else?"

Zabuza began walking out of the well-furnished office. "Money." He said simply, pausing at the door. "My friends don't work for cheap, Gatou-san."

* * *

**A/N: **Here ya go, folks. Enjoy. Thanks again to Eipok Kruden for being the best sounding board an author could hope for. To everyone else, this was the first chapter that will diverge us from canon, so here we go. Also, a million points to whoever catches the daedric reference in this chapter, it'll clue you into the bigger picture that is about to unfold. And, as always, leave a review please. Till next time,

**-Andrew**


	8. Side With the Seeds

**Chapter VIII: "Side With the Seeds"**

"_Humans have a knack for choosing precisely the things that are worst for them.__"_- J. K. Rowling

* * *

He was raping again.

Ironically it had actually started with "just one" but that didn't last long. Hell, the poor girl _screamed_ longer than his resolve held out. For sure, three days later, he was at it again.

And again, and again, and again.

Now he was on number only-God-knows and it wasn't even about the sex anymore. Not about the power, or even hurting someone weaker.

Those pleasures had most certainly come and gone. They just left him hollow and empty, even hating himself had become too much of an effort.

No, Gatou's regime had been quite good for the bad. As dictatorships often were.

No, this was just about taking what he wanted.

Shit, when you're balls deep in _another_ pretty little thing—that's all they were now, one big sobbing blur of hurt—just because you can?

By then it's just about seeing how far you can push it before it all catches up to you.

Hell was Hell, so you might as well earn your place among the upper echelons, right?

The best of the worst, for sure.

She sobbed once more, broken, hopeless, and lost and he _thought_ he felt something move in him at the sight of her scrunched-up-from-the-pain eyes as they leaked a fresh stream of big fat salty tears.

He dismissed it as a random thought.

Out of sight, out of mind.

Instead, he just kept moving inside of her.

What the fuck else was there to do, right?

He'd already tried hurting them. Beating them till their soft skin turned purple and cracked with blood, leaving them heaped masses of unmoving broken for him to push into.

Not for him, apparently. All that blood—the smell—he killed that one so no one would ever know he had his first "can't-get-it-up" moment.

Not like she'd be missed, he had a knack for picking the ones perfectly poised to vanish without a trace.

Being nice? That's what he tried _first_. All the goddamn nice in the world didn't shut her up– didn't stop that incessant begging. Not money, not kind words, not empty promises; nothing was ever enough.

That's when he figured out the best insurance is a knife to the neck. That usually gets them to shut the fuck up. But you can't press too hard; you'll make a mess and find out just how much blood is in a girl's body. Despite the periods, there's still quite a bit.

He had pushed the blade too hard with the first one.

She left this world just as he shot some life into her.

He thought it was almost poetic at the time. But even that lost its fun after a short while. In the end it came back to Gatou– men weren't meant to have all their desires fulfilled. But with his considerable financial backing, the businessman could provide. Whatever your deranged, fucked-up mind could dream, his checkbook could buy.

So long as you were comfortable selling your soul to the devil made flesh.

After Kaiza's execution it became about staying alive.

Fuck this village and being its sheriff.

Fuck old man Tazuna's bridge.

Fuck the innocent, they were lost anyway.

Fuck starving like the rest of them.

An eternity in Hell _later_ seemed small in comparison to being strung up on a stick, having your arms _ripped_ off, and being left to bleed to death like some fucking scarecrow.

Might as well live it up for a bit as a pig in shit before his date at the slaughterhouse finally rolled up.

So here he was, plunging into girl number _I-don't-even-give-a-fuck-anymore_ while she cried quietly, each tear begging him to stop.

To stop hurting her.

To please let her go.

Please let her live.

_Fuck, he was getting close…_

She'd do anything.

Give him anything he wants.

Please.

Stop.

No more.

She'd stopped crying.

_He was almost there…_

She just wanted it all to end.

To go away, disappear into a world where the two of them didn't exist.

Please, just kill her now…

"Godda—urk!"

He felt _it_ penetrate _him_.

The intruding blade was burning like fire as it penetrated his ribs, scraping against the bone.

Grasping the handle was a hand clenched tight while another fisted his hair, drawing his head back.

"You _sick_ fucking pig," a voice hissed as the kunai twisted, digging deeper, and causing him to cry out in pain. "How do you like it…?"

There was a terrible pain as the blade was withdrawn before being plummeted back into him, this time in the soft flesh of his gut. His vision was getting blurry as he glanced down at the naked girl below him. Suddenly, his attacker simultaneously threw him over the side of the bed while dragging the knife through his belly in the opposite direction.

He landed on his back and saw a mass of pink hair that somehow seemed further away than possible before a sandaled foot kicked across his face, breaking his nose.

Blood gushed from his nose and crept up his throat while one of his hands moved to tuck a loop of intestine back into the gaping wound the assassin had carved into him. The black-clad girl snapped her foot out, kicking the offending hand away and allowing his innards to slide out in a warm mess.

He didn't feel it anymore, he was already dead, he just hadn't caught up with the fact.

He was pretty much just a lingering collection of fading thoughts, slipping into the blackness on a river of his own life's blood.

There was anticipation, for the orgasm that never came.

Regret, this is how his wife would find out.

Ending, he was at the cessation of life, the precipice of death.

Empty, his life had never known fulfillment before it was drowned in Gatou's wallowing excess.

He finally left this world, knowing true hate from a stranger that witnessed first-hand what he was: a monster living in the shadows and hiding under little girls' beds.

Takehiko Daiki died in a pool of his own blood, with a withering erection, in a manner befitting a pig signed up for slaughter.

* * *

Sakura watched the man take his last few labored breaths as loathing like she'd never known before permeated her entire being.

When she found the hidden entrance to the station's secret basement, her stomach had filled with dread.

The screams she heard emanating from the hidden room gripped her insides like a vice and twisted mercilessly.

But…this… she hadn't expected to find this.

To just walk in on it.

The room was well stocked.

Plenty of bleach, it smelled _too clean._

Lots of rope, it sat coiled in the far corner.

Tape, rolls of it thrown haphazardly in a stack near the foot of the bed.

There was even a fucking ball gag laying on the desk–

"_What the fuck_," she snarled in disgust, turning her bloodstained face around the man's secret rape-room.

The blood on Sakura's face was still warm, somehow it felt still alive. She shook her head and rubbed a hand over her face, smearing off most of the residue and leaving a caking smudge in exchange.

She ought to have put up her mask, but the damn thing was so goddamn scratchy. Sakura would never understand how Kakashi managed.

There was a broken sob. "Oh, God..."

Sakura felt herself die inside but was kneeling in front of the girl in an instant regardless, swallowing the last dying seconds of her childhood. "What's your name...?" she whispered softly, trying to get the girl to look her in the eyes.

"Airi..." she choked out, breaking out in fresh peals of sobbing hiccups.

"Airi-chan..." Sakura whispered, pulling the shaking girl closer. "I am so, _so _very sorry— I can't even describe, words... I..." the kunoichi was at a complete loss for what to say. What words could encompass such a situation? The Genin held Airi at arm's length and looked her in the eye. "He will never hurt anyone ever again. Not ever. I promise–"

"—h-how am I going to tell my parents," the girl wailed.

"You've done nothing wrong, Airi, it was–"

"Oh, G-God," Airi hiccuped wetly, "he w-worked for Gatou..."

"He won't find you, I swear–"

"We're gonna die!" she practically howled, eyes wide and streaming with tears. "That was the head of Gatou's entire police force! They'll find out we were here! You didn't see that poor man Gatou had killed by the docks, he–"

"Airi!" Sakura interrupted harshly, giving the girl a rough shake and forcing her to look the kunoichi in the eye. "I know, but that's over. We're here to stop all that. I'll clean up here and help clean you up and get you home safely," the kunoichi told the frightened girl. "No one will know you were here, I promise."

"H-He... it hurt so m-much– he hit me," the girl was dissolving into a babbling wreck and Sakura was starting to get nervous, "I saw the rope and b-bags..."

They didn't teach this lesson in the Academy. Sakura felt as if she might have just stumbled upon the Ninja World's dirty little secret. From the age of five children are trained in the shinobi arts. It is the kind of career that literally takes a lifetime to master. It is a craft that must be honed and the teachers waste no time in instructing their students, building them up, in anticipation of that singular, oppressively looming moment that everyone already knew was coming.

Your first kill.

That first moment where a shinobi would claim a life for his or her village, it was the thing that could end many careers. Not everyone could sacrifice their heart for the sake of duty. That's why everyone's taught to have a cause, given something to fight for. That's why they have "The Will of Fire." Sakura just so happened to believe that such a thing was open to interpretation. She would protect her mother and find justice for her father, by proxy that meant she'd help protect the village in order to be trained in the abilities necessary to accomplish those things.

Every shinobi has his or her reasons, from power to family, for serving their village by dedicating their lives to killing.

Killing, you were trained and taught to kill. Every lesson learned could be traced back to making the student a more efficient killer.

"It'll be okay, I promise, Airi."

In all those years of preparation, sweat, work, and study, no one had ever said a single thing about saving people.

Apart from a brief unit on medic-nins and basic methods of treating minor field wounds, no one had ever instructed Sakura on how to save a life– how to try and salvage the remains of a broken person that couldn't be disinfected or bandaged.

"T-Thank you for s-saving me, kunoichi-sama..."

"It will be alright, Airi. I promise," Sakura reaffirmed before rising and beginning to unfurl a scroll she had on her person.

The Genin placed it near the rapist's body and clumsily rolled the corpse on top of it. Sakura made a seal and the body disappeared in a poof of smoke, a pool of cooling blood the only evidence of Sheriff Takehiko's existence.

Except for the never-ending supply of rape kit tools scattered about the man's basement. Sakura would leave those as symbolic testament to the man's true nature. His body could be trussed with the rest of his cohorts in the village square. Perhaps the girl could carve "pig-fucking rapist" into his skin to better convey the message...

Sakura felt a tug at her hip and she whipped around to find Airi holding one of her kunai.

"Tell my family he killed me, please–"

"No–!" Sakura shouted, diving at the girl just as an inkwell of crimson life blood erupted from Airi's neck and she fell over onto the ground.

The kunoichi caught the falling girl and laid her down gently. Airi was growing pale and shaking. Sakura held a hand to her neck in a pointless attempt to slow the bleeding while she fumbled for what meager first-aid supplies she had on her person.

"Hang on, it'll be okay," Sakura insisted frantically as she tried to remember how to bandage a wound.

How the fuck was she supposed to do this? This was the part of the book where someone used the shousen jutsu to start repairing the damaged tissues.

Airi was gurgling weakly now, her blood easily staining through Sakura's bandages.

"Stay with me, sweetie," the kunoichi practically begged while she searched her person for the blood replenishing pill she knew she didn't have. Meanwhile the dying girl's blood continued to stain her hands, running through the same fingers that were incessantly trying to keep it within the girl's body.

This wasn't in the book. Nothing she had been taught to do was working, the girl was still dying.

Airi's gurgles had disappeared and all Sakura could hear now were a few soft, wet hisses clawing their way past the girl's purpling lips.

Sakura was focusing her chakra, desperately willing the green substance to spring to life along her fingertips and save this girl.

Anything. _"Please!"_

She needed a miracle of divine proportions. _"Oh, God…"_

This innocent girl needed a hero, not a killer. _"Come on, damn it, work with me!"_

The Genin felt something on her hand and for one brief moment Sakura allowed herself to get swept up in the belief that she had actually channeled the shousen jutsu and everything was going to be alright.

Sakura looked down and only found one of Airi's hands resting atop hers in a comforting gesture, the girl managed to give Sakura a weak smile and the kunoichi felt Airi's hand squeeze hers lightly.

And then she was gone.

"No…" she whispered, still applying pressure to Air's neck despite the fact the dead girl's skin would be cooling soon. "Please, no…"

The room was quiet, with only a dead body and Takehiko's _tools_ to keep Sakura company as she wept a few silent tears of salty regret over her failure and the life it had cost.

If only she had gotten there quicker…

If only Takehiko wasn't a sick pig…

If only she had been paying more attention to Airi…

If only she had been faster…

Sakura stood slowly, pulling her mask up to cover her blood-smeared face and doing her best to wipe the blood coating her hands off onto her shinobi shozoku. The kunoichi made her way to the stairs leading out of Takehiko's rape-room and spared one last glance back.

Sakura's earlier thoughts about losing her childhood, her innocence came back with full force. In the back of her mind, the part of her that was probably going to need therapy when she eventually returned to Konoha cruelly whispered about how Airi's body wasn't going to be the only thing Sakura left in that basement.

The Genin couldn't help pondering what if her father was never murdered, she had never become a kunoichi, and the world was in fact the magical and wondrous place she had foolishly believed it was as a child.

"What if" continued to haunt the young girl even as she ran up the stairs, away from what she had left behind.

* * *

It was a fabulous night, the kind where the moon was big, the stars bright, and the breeze tickling your skin like the caress of a lover. These were the kind of nights that popped up in books when someone needed to fall in love, or in movies when just the right mood needed to be set for some daring midnight romp or caper. Nights like this held promises of things to come and further delights.

None of that mattered, however, because Jubei was currently sitting in his basement, shut away from the world. Fuck the moon, the stars, and the breeze. Jubei had something better, something precious.

Something that would make him a lot of money.

The sandy-haired man picked up a razor and eyed the smorgasbord in front of him. Any one of his customers would cut a hand off and rape their own mother for ten minutes of play time in Jubei's basement. They were simple creatures, really, ruled by their desires turned crippling needs.

"Gatou is good," Jubei muttered, pulling one of the neatly wrapped bricks closer to himself and slicing open the clear plastic enveloping it.

The shipping magnate had pretty much singlehandedly brought the entire country of Wave to its knees, most people were starving now, too poor to afford... anything, really. But the greedy businessman was a boon for people like Jubei– the scum of the earth was now being nourished and set to bloom like flowers in spring. Sure, Gatou amassed staggering sums of wealth by creating a monopoly on any importing and exporting to and from Wave, but the business was nothing but a front for the man's drug smuggling ring.

That's where the real money was. Nobody taxes drugs, not in the conventional sense anyway. Jubei had to admit it was quite the ingenious plan. Instead of buying drugs from manufacturers like most do, Gatou was able to circumvent them by simply manufacturing his own. Wave's climate was perfect for growing coca plants and Gatou's "ownership" of Wave ensured there was no one to disturb his crops. Once he had that down, it was just a matter of harvesting them and paying some of the locals to refine the leaves and produce the cocaine.

From start to finish, the drugs never left Gatou's hands until someone was ready to put money in them in exchange. After that it was just a matter of getting the finished product onto Gatou's ships to be sent back to the mainland.

Jubei chuckled at the man's ingenuity and luck before sticking a finger into the white powder that spilled from the key and bringing the digit to his gums. The disgusting taste of medicine invaded his mouth and quickly numbed his face causing Jubei to smile.

"Good shit..." he muttered as he began to chop the tiny rocks and powder into a fine snow with his razor blade. The soft "tap-tap-tap-tap" soon filled the basement as the man worked at ensuring the particles of cocaine would be fine enough to penetrate the blood-brain barrier in his sinus cavity.

No point in snorting rocks that are just gonna taste like shit and fall down the back of your throat.

Jubei continued his work, pondering the bricks wrapped in brown paper that were neatly stacked next to the kilos of cocaine. Now _those_were a bag of mixed feelings. On the one hand, they were much more expensive than his cocaine and made more money, even though the buyers didn't need to visit him as frequently as his more cocaine-inclined customers did. The downside, however, was that a heroin buyer was ten times more likely to kill himself shooting up whatever it was he just bought.

Furthermore, Gatou wasn't letting his fine china and black tar go for as cheap as the blow. The magnate hadn't quite gotten his poppy fields planted, yet. He was still importing his heroin from an outside source, most likely a manufacturer in Suna. But Jubei was a patient man, all good things come in time. For now he had the opportunity to build up his customer base in this section of Wave. Though it was unpleasant having to sell to users seeing as Jubei was a distributor for cocaine; his normal clients were dealers and much easier to deal with in a business sense.

The man bent low, pressing his nose to the end of a freshly cut line and inhaled it down with a hearty snort. Jubei tipped his head back and inhaled deeply, already feeling the drip. "...fuck me!"

Jubei set himself another line and quickly downed it like the first, taking the time to scrape the leftovers up with the pad of his index finger and rub the sparkling powder into his gums so that he could forget he had a face.

"You are my face," the man quipped, laughing at the joke he made but didn't get. With that bright thought, Jubei leaned down and inhaled what was left sitting out on his table before jumping up, knocking his chair over, and exclaiming, "God-fucking-damnit! Whoo!"

The man began to pace around his basement rapidly, fidgety to the point of almost not knowing what to do with himself. There was nothing on his plate at the moment, save working that special kind of magic that turns two kilos into three. He was sitting on about ten of them right now so he'd have fifteen by the time it was all said and done.

"Almost fifteen," he thought, eying the key head just broken into. An eight-ball or two (or three, or four) was definitely coming out of that one for his discerning taste to continue sampling in order to ensure top quality. Or whatever excuse, really. He had a habit to feed, after all.

People wouldn't be able to get their drugs if the distributor was too busy going through withdrawals.

Luckily, for the people, Jubei was currently at the opposite end of the spectrum. He picked up his chair and set it back in front of the drug-laden table but his entire being rebelled at the thought of attempting to sit still and stationary. He was going to need something to calm himself down so he could either get to work or make a late night trip to Shigiro's and unload some of the heroin.

"Speaking of heroin..." the man muttered, eying one of the darker drug parcels. "Hmmm... should I? To do or not to do?" Jubei shook his head and reached under his desk and pulled out a smaller bag.

A pungent aroma exploded into the room as the distributor opened the bag and extracted a couple of choice looking nugs. For sure, the new management ensured that one could have anything and everything.

For a price, of course.

"Gatou is good," Jubei mumbled to himself as he broke down the herb he kept for the odd customer seeking a more innocent relief than his normal clientele. Money was money, and Jubei wasn't too concerned with what he was selling so long as people were around to pay good money for it. Soon a cigar was gutted and the contents replaced with the freshly ground bud, Jubei already grinning to himself as the aroma flitted up into his nostrils when he brought the blunt to his mouth to lick it and seal it shut.

A little more tinkering and Jubei was set, he lit a match and held it to the end not stuck in his mouth and lit the fruit of his labor.

"Good call, Jubei," the man congratulated himself through an exhale of smoke. "I'll calm down enough to get to work and I won't pass out and wake up on the floor in a puddle of vomit like last time." Jubei reasoned with a knowing look at his heroin supply. "Never catch the fucking dragon, anyway."

"Good call, gumby."

Jubei whipped around and almost dropped his blunt when he spied someone dressed in all black sitting at the table directly behind him. "The fuck are… you…" his protests and exclamations quickly died out when he saw what the young man was holding.

Naruto stood up and slowly walked over to the dealer, dragging his chair behind him and causing the legs to scrape the wooden floor in an echoing screech.

"Don't let me interrupt, continue," the Genin said as he sat himself at the table next to Jubei.

Jubei took another hit and shuddered. The young man slapped him on the shoulder.

"Puff, puff, pass, gumby. Don't be greedy."

The jinchuuriki pulled down his mask, revealing whisker marks and a predatory grin, as the druggie shakingly handed over the burning stick.

Naruto inhaled and laughed when a cloud of smoke plumed from his mouth and struck Jubei in the face.

The frightened man was staring as if he'd like nothing more in the world than to have that strange ninja disappear like they do in books and stories.

"Fuck me stupid, that is _nice_, Jubei-kun! Can I call you Jubei-kun, Jubei?"

The distributor nodded dumbly. "S-sure... whatever you want... Mister...?"

"Naruto Uzumaki," the blonde replied, passing the blunt back and holding out his other hand to shake Jubei's in a painfully awkward butchery of introduction. "I'm a Genin for the village of Konohagakure no Sato and we've been sent to insure Tazuna-san's bridge gets built. I'm a member of Genin cell Team Seven. This is our first mission outside of Konoha, and I don't really look like this."

There was the briefest glimmer of hope when smoke enshrouded the boy and obscured him from Jubei momentarily.

It died when the smoke cleared and revealed a boy with blonde hair instead of black, blue eyes instead of brown, and a Konohagakure no Sato hitai-ate.

Naruto could only chuckle again as he passed up his next hit. "I'll let you in on a little secret, Jubei-kun. We're gonna kill a bad man. Very bad man, absolutely terrible– man by the name of Gatou." The Genin watched Jubei gulp heavily. "You ever heard of Gatou, Jubei-kun?" Naruto asked, grinning softly as he watched Jubei's eyes dart down to the small flower he held in his hand.

"I-I-I don't, see—the thing is—I don't know 'em, but I heard–"

"Heard of him!" Naruto boomed, clapping the man on the shoulder and grabbing the blunt. "Knew a smart guy like you was in the loop, Jubei-kun."

"Well, that... that is to say I don't know–"

"But we both knew you'd heard of him, Jubei-kun," Naruto laughed heartily as he passed the blunt back to its owner. "We both know we wouldn't be having this conversation if you weren't _good _friends with Gatou."

"W-we wouldn't...?" Jubei whispered.

"No. No, we wouldn't, Jubei-kun." the black-clad boy answered heavily.

"I'm sorry for what's happened in the village, I–"

Naruto shook his head in the negative. "We're not here for that, Jubei-kun." The Konoha-nin took the blunt from Jubei's quivering lips. "These aren't our lands; this wasn't a fight we signed up for. We're paid, plain and simple."

The distributor was sweating profusely now. "Then I can give you information– I–"

"It's too late, Jubei-kun," Naruto interrupted, silencing the older man with a raised hand. "We're ninja, we can get information. That's what ninja do. See, that's not what you're for."

"I'm not...?" Jubei asked, eyes growing wide.

"No," Naruto replied, handing the blunt back to the now quivering man, "you're an 'example.' See, we both know quite a lot more than we might currently be letting on, Jubei-kun."

The distributor was too scared to supply a response.

"For example," the Genin continued, "we know there's a reason I've given you my name. My life story. Details of my mission. Smoked this with you..." Naruto grinned, laying a hand on Jubei's table. "_You _know how this ends. It's in your face. I know what you know and we both know why, Jubei-kun."

Jubei was close to hyperventilating, quivering tufts of smoke were blooming out around the blunt's flickering cherry. He looked at his table, where Naruto's hand had rested briefly. Next to it was some spilt excess from the still unsealed kilo.

Naruto gestured to the drugs. "This situation is beyond the bounds of what one would call common normality–" the jinchuuriki leaned forward with a simper and a tsk of disapproval, "–translation: we both know that _I'm _here because you're a bad, bad man, Jubei-kun."

The distributor grabbed the key and dug a finger into it, bringing the digit to his nose and inhaling like a vacuum. He looked at Naruto and pushed the key towards him.

"No, thanks," the assassin declined with a chuckle. "Maybe if you didn't go around extorting people to keep quiet about your particular service to the community, if you weren't paying some of Gatou's men to handle some of your more outspoken opponents, we might've asked you to join us." Naruto sighed. "Sadly, Jubei-kun, you didn't. And now you are on the wrong side of this little nightshade..."

"Please, God– I was just trying to make–"

"You know what I am, Jubei-kun," Naruto overrode with a laugh and shake of his head. "We both know that isn't gonna help, not if you've already seen one of us. You don't belong to your God anymore."

The man was practically sobbing by now, when Naruto leaned in close, snatching the blunt away, before dropping it to the floor and grinding it out with his heel.

"You made a deal with the Devil, Jubei-kun. Gatou is good, huh?" Naruto briefly considered the question before continuing, dismissing the notion. "Gatou is very, very bad. And you sided with him and his people. The rapists. The escapees. The addicts. The murderers. The drugs. The smuggling. _All of it_." The jinchuuriki hissed softly before gesturing to himself and the nightshade. "Tazuna sided with us. Unfortunately, for you, 'us' includes me. Everything after you and me is just a contest of who's got the scariest and baddest monster."

Jubei looked green and sickly, as if vomiting was an easy slip towards and an uphill climb against.

"You are that unfortunate housefly over there, Jubei-kun," Naruto said, pointing towards a spider web in the far corner of Jubei's basement ceiling. "You started hanging around with the wrong flies, the bad flies. They're dangerous, they hang out near the webs in life." Naruto held up an open hand. "Crime. Addiction. Violence. Preying on the weak," he ticked off finger by finger, "those are the things in life that you flirt with until you suddenly find yourself tangled up within them."

Jubei continued to stare at the struggling fly, the insect twitching in its current entanglement.

"Just like that poor fucker over there," the blonde said with a pointed finger towards the fly, "and, just like in real life," Naruto explained, now indicating a spider that was currently making its way, long legs rising and falling on the silken web, towards the entrapped fly, "there are bad things in these webs. Scary things that come out of the dark to catch naughty little flies who've flown too close to the web...

"You and everyone else under Gatou are nothing but one big fucking feast of fat little flies that think they can rise above their station and play God just because they've managed to stay perched on the biggest pile of shit in their neck of the pasture."

"Is it– is it going to b-be… will it be quick?" Jubei asked in a choked whisper.

"It'll be a choice, Jubei-kun," Naruto replied as he casually laid the Ebony Blade on Jubei's table. "I think you might've chosen the wrong side, Jubei-kun. I don't gamble much in life, but I do like to think of myself as a risk taker," the grinning jinchuuriki acknowledged with a smile. "And I kinda like our odds of getting to Gatou and cutting his fat belly open to feed the screaming masses of these people. The people that you've enslaved with your greed." Naruto stood up suddenly and grabbed the terrified man's long hair, pulling him back and exposing his throat. "We will be hailed as heroes when we present the mutilated bodies of Gatou and _every-single-one _of his followers like cows gone to slaughter..."

Naruto smiled and shook his head. "I commend the quality of your product, Jubei-kun. You've got me rambling like a lightweight. Is that indicative of the quality of the rest of your stock?"

"Y-yeah, only the best from Gatou. It's like getting it from the source, no middleman to make cuts when you get your hands on it first. It's all profit once you make a return on a key. No one else distributes in is area, Gatou assigned it to me." Jubei said quickly, rushed.

Bargaining.

Begging.

"You mean you actually work for Gatou?"

"Yeah, he has us all around this island. Each of us is responsible for managing our sector." he responded shakingly. Jubei pulled out a cigarette and failed to light it with on his first attempt. His hands trembled as he pulled out another match and managed on his second attempt. "I gotta make sure people here get from me," he said through a cloud of smoke. "If I find people going around Gatou, I have to call in the janitors."

"Janitors"? the Genin asked with a raised brow.

"They clean up. Messes go away." Jubei said dumbly as he went in for another drag.

"Well, that's good for you in the end, Jubei-kun." Naruto offered as he turned towards the table in front of them. "Because that brings us back to the choice I'm going to offer you. The deal of the century. Are you listening good, Jubei-kun?"

Jubei nodded, eyes darting around frantically. Behind his would be assassin a lone marabunta buzzed near the spider. He wondered if it was preparing to drag the spider off to lay its egg in the arachnid.

"You can let me cut you down, carve you up with that sword you see sitting in front of you…" Naruto said with a grave nod to the Ebony Blade. "It'll hurt, a lot. I'm not chopping off your head or anything." There was a brief pause. "Yet. For now though, it'll be the long good bye, Jubei-kun. Bloody. Messy. Loud."

"Pleas, n-no! What can I-"

"Or," Naruto held up a hand to silence Jubei, "don't interrupt, you can take the easy way out. Pick your poison."

Jubei's cigarette quivered in his lips when the blond teen swept his open hand between the cocaine and the heroin.

"Decide."

The assassin picked up his sword and sat back casually with a nod to Jubei.

Jubei looked around his basement, forlornly, slowly sweeping his eyes about in a desperate search for anything.

His eyes landed on the marabunta and the spider. He reached for the brown package, the one nearest him.

The Brotherhood assassin moved behind Jubei as he tore the heroin brick open and scooped out a handful. Jubei looked at his powdered hand before slapping it to his nose and choking down a hacking snort.

In front of him the spider twitched violently as the marabunta watched its larvae hatch before buzzing off.

Jubei looked at the spilt heroin and dipped his nose down before coming up with a powdered face. The sight of the larvae burrowing out of the arachnid before beginning to consume its still living body made Jubei smile for some stupid reason that he didn't quite get. Marabunta usually only laid a single egg and hauled the spider off…

It was like going to sleep, right?

Had to be better than getting butchered like a pig to serve as some warning to a man that didn't give two shits about Jubei, anyway.

Not like the blonde killer wouldn't find track marks if he'd bother to roll up Jubei's sleeves.

The ceiling was getting closer.

Or maybe he was floating away, Jubei couldn't really decide as he wondered what it was like to have a face.

_"What if I'd used a spike…"_was his last thought before he screamed, somehow far away from yet still engulfed by the awful, all-consuming feeling of penetration.

A few drops of blood fell from the katana protruding from his gut before the blade danced with black fire. The unnatural flames danced along the blade's edge until they reached Jubei and he screamed.

His clothes didn't so much as catch fire, rather his skin bubbled before boiling over as mass of the chakra fueled fire erupted from his gut.

He screamed amidst the waves of the most awful pain he could have never imagined for an eternity that was borne from start to finish within the span of a few seconds before it stopped.

He could smell his overcooked innards.

"Burning" wasn't the right word, but "disappearing" was the last that came to mind.

* * *

Naruto raised his mask and hid the grin he was sporting at the sight of Jubei's semi-hollow body. Indulging his inner-Anko had been interesting, he didn't think the little druggie had it in him to do it without being forced.

"...too bad I lied about the choice part, Jubei-kun," Naruto chuckled as he withdrew a pair of sealing scrolls. The Genin unrolled one on the floor next to Jubei's chair and walked over to the table. "I'm tempted to be greedy right now and turn a profit..." Naruto thought aloud before glancing over in the dead man's direction. "How'd that work out for ya, gumby?"

An unmoving face, locked in the rictus of pain and suffering, atop a gaping shell was the silent reply Naruto received.

"Didn't think so," the jinchuuriki agreed, grabbing a single kilo of heroin and sealing it in the second scroll. "Just one to trade to Tetsuo for a favor, nothing extra for personal profit. Karma points for me." Naruto walked over to Jubei's body and tipped the chair sideways, causing the corpse to topple out onto the unfurled sealing scroll. "It's time to get you over to the big show, Jubei-kun. All your friends are already waiting for us."

A hand seal and a puff of smoke later, Naruto was heading towards the basement's stairs, wondering how Sakura and Sasuke were faring. Something Jubei had confessed stuck with the blonde and he paused briefly.

He formed a cross seal and a shadow clone popped into life. "Henge," Naruto muttered, causing the chakra construct to take on the appearance of one of the unopened keys of cocaine.

Nodding to himself confidently, Naruto strode up the stairs.

Behind him the fetid maggots had finished with their host and were now spinning themselves new cocoons to mature in.

A marabunta buzzed in the background.

* * *

"Is everyone ready to go scout the village and pick up supplies?" Kakashi asked when his three students limped back into Tsunami's living room after getting cleaned up from "training." "Excellent!" Kakashi chirped, interpreting the three simultaneous glares from his students as a collective "yes." "We'll be on our way, Tsunami-chan, expect us home in midafternoon." the Jounin called, grinning at the young woman's rosy blush as he swept out of the house with his three disgruntled students.

Once everyone was outside Kakashi called a halt and turned to face his students. "Everyone henge now, well before we get into town. Remember to be inconspicuous, and don't get involved in anything that might draw attention," he ordered, using a henge of his own to look like an unassuming traveler. To match his students who had opted for various levels of shabbiness.

If they were a family, Naruto was clearly the "problem child." His clothes hung off him in tattered rags and he looked emaciated from what Kakashi could see through some of the holes on his shirt and cloak.

Abused and up to no good seemed to be the motto for his blonde student's disguise.

With a weary sigh, Kakashi lead them off Tazuna's property onto the dirt road that would take them to the village proper.

"Twenty bucks says we see people starving in the streets like in those "sponsor a child" commercials, any takers?" Naruto offered with a glance at his two teammates.

Sakura was poised to scold the asshole for his lack of tact when Sasuke fished out some ryo from his pocket and held the notes up. "I say we get pick pocketed at least once," he bet, shaking a hand with Naruto before returning to gazing at the road ahead.

"You two ought to be more sympathetic towards the villagers' plight," Sakura admonished with a disapproving shake of her head. "Especially you, Naruto. You support yourself, you ought to know how difficult it can be to keep a roof over your head."

"Maybe," the blonde shrugged nonchalantly, ignoring the fact that his Brotherhood contracts had always kept his personal coffers comfortably stocked, "but there's only so much to entertain yourself with when blending in amongst a weary and oppressed people, Sakura-chan." Naruto grinned with a glance towards the Uchiha. "Proving Sasuke wrong is always fun, too." he added in an afterthought.

"Hn." the Genin grunted, dismissing the blonde with a glare from his Sharingan before turning his gaze towards their sensei. "Are we expecting to be attacked in the village, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Only if we are very sloppy, Sasuke," Kakashi replied, turning from his Icha Icha briefly, "if we remain discreet I'm confident we will avoid harassment. I find it unlikely Gatou and Zabuza could have already mobilized an effective response to our presence in Wave. I'd say we probably have a day or two before the next move is made."

The Genin nodded and returned his eyes to the path ahead.

"Think they've found our little welcoming gift, Sensei?" Naruto asked hopefully.

"I'm sure they've found the bodies. I'm curious as to what the immediate response has been." Kakashi replied, turning a page and giggling at the content on the next page.

"...guess they'll probably try and... cover it up..." the jinchuuriki offered weakly as he found himself deeply perturbed by the sounds manifesting behind his sensei's mask.

"Heh heh hee..." the copy-nin paused and reread the same passage again. "Yeah... probably, Naruto." he said offhandedly. "That or they'll up the security detail patrolling the village. It most likely depends on who first stumbled across the bodies and how many people actually saw them. Either way, mounting a response should be difficult seeing as how Sakura took care of the man Gatou had running the police force..."

"Fucking pig," the girl muttered darkly.

"Indeed." Kakashi replied noncommittally. "Regardless, everyone is to remain alert and on the lookout for Zabuza or any other shinobi. We should be alright, but it never hurts to be diligent."

The three Genin nodded despite Kakashi's face being buried in his book once more and the four continued on in silence until the outskirts of the village came into view. Beside them, a dreary looking villager gulped down the last remaining drops of sake in his bottle before tossing the empty container to the ground and stumbling off the dirt path and into the woods.

Naruto walked over to the bottle and picked it up with a grin. "One try," he muttered, swinging his arm in a few practice tosses before finally tossing the glass object up and into the trees.

A second passed as the Genin held his breath in anticipation...

A hollow "thunk" echoed from the trees and preceded the unmistakable sound of a body slumping to the ground. "Ow, goddamnit!" Team 7 heard a voice call out dazedly. "...the fuck...?"

"Point for me!" Naruto congratulated himself gleefully, holding up a hand to Sasuke that the Uchiha grudgingly high-fived.

It was a rather impressive shot.

"Stop that." Kakashi ordered with a condescending slap to the back of Naruto's head that caused the jinchuuriki to scowl petulantly. "We're the good guys, remember?" the Jounin questioned rhetorically as he pointed at himself, Sakura, and Sasuke. "We're here to help the villagers, not abuse them for our entertainment, Naruto."

"Yeah, we'll maybe we should rethink that whole stance, Sensei," Naruto began, "I've been thinking–"

"—did it hurt?—"

"—and—fuck off Sasuke—I've been wondering about our whole help the villagers stance."

"Go on." Kakashi encouraged as he and his team finally reached the village. A gaggle of dirty children ran by, following a particularly beleaguered child clutching a dead fish like it was treasure.

"Well, why is that our stance, exactly? Not that I don't mind all the neat extracurricular activities we've been getting into," the blonde hastily added, "but our job is only to technically protect Tazuna-san and his family. Ensuring the bridge gets built has nothing to do with protecting this village, honestly. It's kinda just a bunch of extra work, isn't it?"

"Well, Naruto, I'll begin with a simple question: what is the point in building a bridge if no one is alive to use it?"

"...guess it'd be pretty pointless..." Naruto admitted cautiously, already sensing holes in his previous assumptions and feeling a "lesson" coming on.

One had to be cautious; sometimes lessons could cost a person their face.

"Exactly. But, your lacking common sense aside," the Jounin quipped, pausing briefly for Sakura's enthusiastic "here, here!", "there is a more important lesson to be learned here– one that you all could benefit from." Kakashi waved a hand at the village lazily. "Life, as I'm sure you know by now, is made up of choice after choice. To steal or starve. Kill or be killed. Good or bad. Lie or be honest. The list is terribly cliché and expansive, but exists none the less. With me so far, students?"

The three Genin chorused a "Yes, Sensei" before the Jounin continued.

"Good. Naturally, however, we've arrived at a prime example of one the more difficult choices in life: the choice between what is easy, and what is right." Kakashi continued, watching as a young girl Sakura's age (though she was dressed much older than was appropriate) walked out of an alley tucking some ryo into her bra. "Standing up to bullies, tyrants, dictators– that is not something everyone possesses the capacity to do," the copy-nin continued while a middle-aged man came sauntering out of the alley zipping up his pants, "most of the time it's easier to just go with the flow and follow whoever is winning."

"Like siding with Gatou, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked.

"Exactly, Sakura-chan. It's easier, to work for Gatou and become one of his thugs, than it is to stand up to him. There's no denying that, and the people of this country are terrified. They don't know where their next meal will come from. Medicine will soon be in short supply. Help has yet to come. They don't know when it'll be their turn next for Gatou's henchmen to come knocking at their door," Kakashi explained as the quartet walked to the previously scouted market. "Control through fear is a powerful weapon, but it breeds rebellion. It creates people like Inari's father, the ones willing to go against the grain. Gatou was smart to have him publicly executed, I'll give him that. It's the kind of thing they'd do in Kiri, honestly, but that's beside the point. I'm not concerned with giving you three a lesson on morality," the "yet" went unspoken but the three Genin heard it all the same, "I want you to realize the effects of only thinking about the here and now without any regard towards the future."

"So, what, you want us to plan ahead, Sensei?" Naruto asked as they turned onto the village's main street and a donkey brayed, dragging its member on the ground as it pulled a cart. "'Cause I've already got a savings account..." the blonde supplied as his eyes unwillingly fixated on the beast of burden's fifth leg. Naruto grinned before turning to Sakura and pointing, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

"Not quite what I was referring to, Naruto," Kakashi replied, chuckling while the pink haired kunoichi rolled her eyes and flipped her teammate the bird. "It's about deciding whether or not to side with the leaves, or with the seeds. Gatou's people have picked the leaves– they look nice right now, high atop the branches as they dance merrily in the wind. The seeds are not to be envied as they wallow around in the ground, but they will grow, if nurtured.

"The problem with the leaves is that they will fall and die, this is inevitable despite how long it might take." the Genin were listening attentively, finally catching onto the meaning of their teacher's words. "When we decided to continue on this mission, we chose to side with the seeds, and thus became farmers of men. It is now our responsibility to nurture these seeds and see to it that the leaves don't steal all the sunlight." Kakashi once again gestured to the village as a whole. "A lot of these people already believe Gatou to have won, and people like Gatou tend to think their reign on top is going to last forever." the Jounin pointed to the crowd gathering in the market square. "The leaves will always fall, no matter how many sit high in the branches. Be patient, plant a seed, and grow a tree instead."

Naruto smiled to himself as he walked off towards the part now forming the crowd. The village square was open to the sky with a shanty town's worth of manned stalls, each offering their own fare. In the center stood a fountain set atop stone lined with a few benches for patrons of the market.

It was an odd feeling to be in this market. To Naruto's right, a young boy sat with his mother behind a stand lined with dried and salted fish. The woman swatted lazily at a trio of flies walking around on her face. Her child squirmed uncomfortably and whined a piteous moan.

Naruto knew he was starving, but his belly was still swollen and distended.

There was a smell. Unclean and decaying, it lingered throughout the market like an oppressive haze that seemed to grip the people mercilessly. They were defeated. Scared. Mothers were clutching their children close, as they kept away from the men with swords– Gatou's ronin. Lining the market's main square were several shops and restaurants offering to prepare what had just been purchased from the market. They had awnings out front that covered tables were men sat smoking as they sought refuge from the sun.

"Third world" wasn't the right term, but it was the first that came to mind.

_"Today however..."_Naruto thought as he watched several of Gatou's police force hassle some of the stragglers. They had turned off the fountain and drained the blood. Now they were piling the bodies on karts for trips to what Naruto imagined had to be the most fetid and unsanitary morgues in all of the Elemental Nations.

The jinchuuriki stopped to admire some rancid beef in the stall off to his right. The greening meat was covered with a few burrowing maggots the wiggled around vigorously like fat pigs in shit as they flourished while everything around them died.

Naruto was grateful for the mask hidden beneath his henge, pretending that the cloth helped filter the smell a little.

One of the officers, a man around Kakashi's age, gave the disguised Genin a pointed look and Naruto had to swallow his grin before he moved on, veering off to one of the market center's side paths. The heat was stifling, something that growing up in Hi no Kuni had taught Naruto to appreciate, but Wave had humidity that wasn't present in Konoha. The wet heat had a way of clinging to you like a second skin and causing you to perspire simply by being outside.

The smell was worse in this sector of the market, but he could see a smaller crowd gathering as people once again began drearily flocking to another point of interest.

Naruto thought he spied the young girl from earlier disappearing into an alley behind a restaurant that specialized in food obtained from the nearby docks as he began to make his way through the crowd. The people seemed to be forming a modestly sized semi-circle as they tittered back and forth in their mundane attempts to get a view of what seemed to be another gathering.

As the Konoha-nin neared the fetid epicenter of the gathering he stopped breathing through his mouth as the rotting stench was now palatable on his tongue. It was unnatural in a similar sense to seeing a dead and decaying body dug up from the grave. It was smell gone rotten to taste that threw itself down Naruto's throat and festered in every taste bud on its way down.

It was the most godforsaken thing Naruto had ever witnessed.

Naruto found himself a reasonably positioned spot that wasn't over exposed behind a young girl with long black hair that sunk below her shapely things and contrasted nicely with her modest white yukata.

The blonde grinned and decided to examine the quality of her face.

It was then that Naruto met what had to be the happiest man in all of Wave Country.

"Have a look around, brothers and sisters," a man prompted, drawing Naruto's attention away from the girl. "Can you see how these poor, unenlightened fools are forced to wallow about in the mundane?" He was wearing a ragged cloak with a hood that hung like wrinkled skin on his thin frame. "Do you see how sad it is, the way they skitter about, forever finding themselves unfulfilled?" The speaker gestured towards the larger crowd of people staying back from the small assembly, revealing a hand that only had three fingers.

The mangled and rotting appendage was covered in purpling scarlet lesions that continued to travel up the man's entire arm.

"Pity them, my brothers and sisters!" the man boomed. "Pity them because they won't ever experience Divine Grace as we have." He walked up to a young teen, the boy's neck was covered in angry red insect bites that oozed a trickle of puss. "They will never know love!" he yelled, throwing his arm around the startled teen and giving him a squeeze and moving on. He turned to an old woman who was coughing blood into a handkerchief. "They are forced to live in fear as they drown themselves in sacrilegious rivers of their own perversions."

Naruto watched the man walk back to the front of the assembly "But that fate is not for us, my brothers and sisters. We are loved. We are blessed."

The blonde questioned everything he'd ever learned or heard about the word "blessed" as he scrutinized the current assembly. Everyone was sick in varying degrees. At the very back of the assembly a little boy sat by himself, scratching the oozing lesions that pockmarked his skin. Near the middle, a man sat, shaking, as he weakly pawed at a bright red sore atop the crown of his head.

"But do not mistake my intent, brothers and sisters. Do not hate these poor, unloved people. Cherish and pity them, for they are not enlightened. They are not cared for in life. And they," he lectured, pausing briefly as he hugged another emaciated little girl who had run out from the crowd and joined the congregation, "are not blessed with the Father's divine gifts."

"I never struck you for the religious type, Naruto," Sakura whispered as she came to a stop next to her blonde teammate.

"Nothing else to watch," he shrugged as he turned back towards the pockmarked man.

"But it is not so for us, my brothers and sisters– there will not be despair for His blessed children!" the man smiled genuinely, like a child might when he was bursting to tell a secret he held to the world. "Rejoice, my Family, and know that they," he pointed to the larger crowd gathered around the congregation, "could never take this moment from us. They cannot comprehend our love. They cannot comprehend their sickness. And, most lamentable of all, they," the man lowered his hood with two rotting hands causing the crowd to gasp and take a collective step backwards, "will never know the feelings of grace, love, and fulfillment that accompany the Father's divine touch."

Naruto eyed the speaker with revulsion. His visage was riddled with bulbous protrusions imbedded under his leathery skin, giving him the appearance of a scaly man. The rest of his body was dotted with scarlet lesions that sat like drops of color in a brown sea.

"That's weird..." Sakura muttered, making a face.

"The lizard-man? No shit." Naruto shot back.

"No, idiot," the kunoichi hissed, "he has tuberculoid and lepromatous leprosy. That's not normal–"

"Do not lament me, for I am blessed with the Holy Father's love. It enshrouds me like an impenetrable force of divine comfort that no one could ever hope to encroach upon!" he paused before running to stand upon the lip of the fountain head. "Arise, my brothers and sisters– stand!" he commanded, "for we are blessed! And that is why I am asking you to join me today!" the speaker voiced as an old woman hobbled up to take position among the congregation– there was something in her eyes, what it was, Naruto was not certain, however. But it was _growing_. "In doing so I would only ask one thing of you all and see only a few demands in return..."

"Who are you, psycho?" someone from the crowd shouted.

"I am Love," he said with a chuckle, "and I am asking you all today to abandon your names and embrace the divine life our Father has shone upon us!" he urged, hopping down and slowly making his way to the old lady at the back of the precession and grasping her face in a loving caress, "What do _they_ call you, my dearest?"

"Chikako…" she wheezed.

"Chikako, I would see you break free from the wretched spiritual shackles that enslave _them_," Love ushered, pointing towards the outer crowd, "and obliterate oppression by embracing Charity."

"…the fuck are we watching, Sakura…?"

"I don't know! A lot of these people have bot fly wounds– it's uncommon–"

"What are you called?" Love demanded of little boy with a swollen stomach.

"Yasu, sir–"

"Then I would see you banish uncertainty and embrace Providence!"

"Must I keep a constant eye on all of you?" Kakashi asked as the man continued to speak with the members of his congregation one-on-one. "It was bad enough tracking down Sasuke from his little detour, now I have to worry that you two might get all preachy and 'holier-than-thou' on me, too?"

"It's attention-grabbing, goddamnit," the jinchuuriki retorted as he spared a glance towards his sensei and Uchiha teammate, "there's something… _off_ about this whole thing. No one should be _that_ happy. Ever."

Naruto hadn't expected to run into any religious zealots in Wave, the occasion just wasn't something a shinobi usually considers. What the hell kind of religion was this man actually preaching? If the Genin didn't know any better, he would have said that Love was specifically targeting the detritus of society. Half of these people already had at least one foot in the grave, and the other half was so riddled with disease that the blonde would be hard-pressed to name even half of their conditions.

Furthermore, despite that the general populace of Wave was wary enough to stay back for fear of contracting... anything the converts might have, Love seemed eager to go out of his way to embrace them all, one by one, as he encouraged them to give up who they were and be "born again."

Whatever the fuck that meant.

"Help me, I'm dying!" someone shouted frantically, drawing Love's attention. "Save me! They're killing me!"

The congregation parted around the man, allowing Love to march right up to him and grasp his shoulders. "What is your name, my brother," the leper asked confidently with a warm smile.

"Minoru, sir..." he muttered, pawing at the festering wound atop his head.

"And what could possibly be killing one so full of life such as yourself, Minoru?" Love asked in the tone one would use to placate a child frightened over nothing.

"I don't know!" Minoru moaned. "It hurts, and they're starting to spread..."

Love nodded in understanding. "You are not dying, Minoru– far from it. You," the zealot comforted, cupping Minoru's face with his managed hand, "are so full of life that the very notion of death would run in fright from your very presence." Love gently tilted the man's head downwards and examined the scarlet lesion that oozed puss from atop the man's head. "You are blessed, my brother, with the very essence of life. Our divine Father has seen fit to gift his love upon you—as he has all of us—so that you may come to love Him and spread the love we all share with the entirety of the world."

"H-He has...? How?"

"By making you the very embodiment of what it is to grow life in the nest of decay, my brother! You are a scion to us all, so blessed by the Father's loving gifts!" the man insisted, making sure everyone was paying attention to his words. "But it is a simple choice you must make for a magnanimous reward that you shall see, Minoru." Love proposed, taking hold of the other man's head. "Do you know what the Father envisions for you, my brother?"

There was a pause and the jinchuuriki looked around nervously. _"What the fuck is going on here?"_he thought frantically. This crazy man was recruiting for some crazy church cult for the already dead.

It was uncomfortable to watch and Naruto found himself having another one of those quiet little break downs that were annoyingly becoming a more frequent occurrence. The kind where something he held to absolute fact and devotion was called out and forced to have a spotlight shone on it.

Is this how he would seem if he were to pray to the Night Mother in public? Would he look any less insane preaching a killing cult rather than a death cult? There was most certainly a reason the Brotherhood was not a commonly spoken topic. Only a certain crowd of people spoke about the guild of assassins in anything more than wives' tales and whispers. They tended to be the prideful. The powerful. The hated. The loved. The hurt. The cheaters.

"Evil" wasn't the right word, but it was the first that came to mind.

Those were Naruto's people, the flock he tended in the name of their dread father Sithis.

The gaping void the stood before all, Unholy Father to the Night Mother's children. So terrible was her devoted love to the abyss that she bore him six children and murdered them all in the name of Sithis, the dread father.

Her love was what enshrouded every Dark Brother and Sister and from her voice they carried out the work of delivering souls into the hands of the gaping void, the eternal chaos, Lord Sithis.

That was what Naruto believed and the young Genin was truly perplexed about where he quite stood in the world.

The question of what he truly wanted in life came through his mind but Naruto buried it away ruthlessly and focused on his surroundings.

"Legacy" was the answer that had echoed back, but it only begged the question of what the answer was.

"Minoru, our Father would only see that you transcend death, shed the oppressive shackles that consume those poor souls who do not know His love by choosing to accept His blessed gifts. Those piteous fools," he gestured to the watching crowd, "most of them will never know His precious love. But that is not the cruel fate that has been cast upon you, my brother..."

Minoru's eyes were wide in fear and anticipation. "It isn't...?" he whispered back as the entire congregation hung on every frantic word of their conversation with baited breath.

Naruto shifted uncomfortably as Love stood over Minoru and began running his fingers over the kneeling man's head. The disguised Genin couldn't quite see what it was, if anything, the delusional prophet was doing to Minoru besides just simply touching the kneeling man's head.

Minoru stiffened and let out a soft, keening moan that went unnoticed by all except the supremely observant.

Love pulled his hands away, cupping... something in front of Minoru. It was far too small for Naruto to see, the whole of it was able to be concealed in the palms of the man's hands.

It was far easier to believe that it was nothing and both men were simply insane. Naruto was quickly beginning to realize this country was far worse off than he ever bothered to consider. Gatou seemed to have absolute control of his little country-turned-island-getaway. The drug lord's power and greed had elevated him to Kingship and given him a country to rule and burn to see his coffers forever full.

And then there was everybody else. An entire country's worth of people forced to sell their souls or shut up and just keep moving along, life instantly transformed into a living, breathing third-world country. Everything was dirty and nobody bothered to care. The smell was everywhere and in some places it simply got worse. The overbearing decay of starving people withering in the sun hung oppressively in such force that it encompassed all the senses in its unrelenting assault. Wave Country had become all-encompassing in its melancholy. This was where the islanders were born, where they would decay, where they would suffer, where they would die, and where they would rot.

Gatou sat high atop his throne to lord over his mockery of a kingdom that he had erected upon foundations built from the discarded bodies of Wave Country's withering population.

And that was why this situation was so terribly _wrong_ and unsettling. Today Naruto had met the happiest man in all of Wave– quite possibly all of existence, if the blonde was to be honest with himself.

More disconcerting was the fact that Naruto was now currently watching the second-happiest person in Wave kneel in front of the first. Minoru's eyes were shining brightly, all despair and fear eradicated from their glassy depths, as he watched Love walk to a nearby withering tree that had been planted for decoration.

The preacher knelt down and placed whatever it was that he held in his hand into the dry soil before standing and striding back to Minoru. The latter man was crying tears of joy that carved salty rivulets down his dirt-covered cheeks as he gripped the front of Love's tattered cloak in fanatical reverence.

"I would see you annihilate death with His love and become Genesis, my brother," the leper spoke lovingly to Minoru as he raised the now openly sobbing man to his feet. "And I would see all of His children find love in the Father and their brothers and sisters!" he continued, now walking closer to the outer circle of people merely watching the sermon.

A wave of tension rippled through the air and the crowd became visibly nervous as the entire congregation turned to watch their leader approach the watching crowd.

The sudden role-reversal was unexpected and the jinchuuriki fought down a spark of paranoia that shot through him as he watched the sick man approach his location. Love drew closer and Naruto could have sworn the leper had eyes only for him. His hand twitched as it ached to pull out a kunai, dispel the henge, and slaughter every single one of these twisted fucks if only for some peace of mind and respite from every single impulse that was howling inside his skull at the threat that could be felt but not sensed.

A pair of beleaguered men parted and the girl with the admirable backside stiffened when Love's tattered cloak brushed her elbow as the older man came to a stop.

Directly in front of Naruto.

He was smiling but Naruto didn't care because the stench rolling off him was so overpowering that the Genin was surprised he couldn't visibly see it. The two inspected each other, Naruto wary and Love politely curious, until Love raised his hands causing Sakura to take a step in front of her teammate.

The kunoichi instinctively pushed Naruto back and drew the attention of the vagabond.

"Over here, gumby," the disguised Genin interjected, "you got something you wanna say, or are you just window shopping today? The hell's your name, anyway?"

"I am Love," he answered simply, as if explaining sunshine to a blind worm that lives underground, "and I would never attempt to entertain the mere _notion_ of expecting you to understand what that means." The preacher gestured to those surrounding Naruto with his raised hands. "You, and the rest of these poor fools are unloved, unclean, and unguided."

"And what, exactly, do you mean by that, gumby?" Naruto growled, bristling at the diseased man's tone of superiority.

"That I pity the lot of you, _especially _you, young one," Love spoke softly. "I can feel your false god slowly devouring you from the inside with your own heresy. And, like all false prophets, one day you will be discarded and cast to the wayside because no one has use for a hollow shell..." the man intoned softly, causing the young Genin to step forward in a threatening manner as he continued. "Your faith is misplaced, young one. One day, my Father will devour your false god and wash away the stains of your idolatry with His love... if you'll but open your heart and let him."

"You're fucking crazy, man," Naruto spat, "you people oughtta get some medical attention instead of wasting what little time you all have left chanting prayers and swapping diseases."

"You are the one stricken with sickness, heretic," Love countered, "like the rest of these suffering lambs, you are riddled and consumed with fear. Cowards, afraid to let the Father love you. Weak, giving up control of your lives to unworthy kings. Disgusting, as you mock your disease all the while begging for a cure..." The man laughed before continuing. "You and everyone else in this ungodly hovel are more of the same– nourishing dirt set to help in farming the righteous."

Naruto lacked an adequate response but it didn't stop Kakashi from placing a hand on his shoulder in warning. Love seemed to chuckle at the display before tenderly grasping the hand of the young teen girl Naruto had been admiring earlier.

"But the same does not apply to you, dear," he insisted, eyes shining with mirth as he led her closer, "I can feel the Father's love about your person, I can feel that you are truly blessed..."

The girl tilted her head to regard Love curiously, revealing a face marred in pasty lesions, like pallid, rosy splotches that traveled down her neck as well. The jinchuuriki heard Sakura give a slight gasp of shock as he learned the girl clearly had her good side and her bad side.

"What is the name society has attempted to shackle you with, my dear?" Love asked her, pulling her small hand to his mouth and tenderly brushing his lips against her knuckles in a display of affection that unsettled Naruto, as if he was descending a flight of stairs and missed a step.

"Rei..." she murmured softly and Naruto could hear the blush in her voice.

"The most beautiful bell at the ball, by far," he whispered, just loud enough to make sure Naruto heard, "and I would see you dispel the corrupted illusion of pulchritude that ensnares so many by embracing the gifts the Father has blessed you with and becoming Verity!" the man pulled the girl from the watching crowd and deposited her amongst the congregation before returning to his position at the forefront. "And would see you all free, brothers and sisters, free to embrace our Father's gifts and spread His divine love!"

"How do we do this?" someone from the assembly cried.

"By reaching all the way to the four corners of this earth!" Love cried, beginning to walk towards one of the village exits, the crowd parting from his way as if repelled by force. The man stopped briefly to address his congregation a final time. "Proliferate the Father's love; go forth and multiply, my brothers and sisters."

And then he was gone, walking away from the now dispersing group of unwanteds and invalids, his tattered cloak disappearing amongst the sea of the dirty, rotting, and oppressed.

Those gathered finally left, leaving Team 7 standing amongst themselves. Naruto took another look at the hand Kakashi was resting on him and gave a jerk of his shoulder, causing the Jounin to remove the offending appendage.

"So what did we learn, children?" the man asked his students.

"That, clearly," Naruto scoffed, "Wave is the asshole of the world, Sensei."

Kakashi sighed, shaking his head. "Then I suppose that makes you a hemorrhoid, Naruto," he replied before turning to Sakura. "What were your observations, Sakura-chan?"

"Um... well, a lot of these sick people are afflicted with maladies not common in this area," she began, ignoring the glare her teammate was leveling on their Sensei for his previous comment, "quite a few of these people seem to have Murine typhus as opposed to Epidemic typhus. Most people catch Epidemic because the Rickettsia prowazekii bacteria is transmitted by lice, but Murine is transmitted by fleas carrying Rickettsia typhi that are usually found on vermin. People that get Murine typhus are differentiated because they have a pretty decent chance of developing neurological symptoms like seizures, confusion, and imbalance..."

"Interesting, what else did you notice, Sakura?" Kakashi prompted.

"Well, some of the bot fly wounds were rather odd. Usually a person gets one and does something about it, but some of these people are covered in them... if I didn't know any better, I'd say that a few of the people had been bitten by sheep bot flies instead of human ones, that's not normal."

"How can you tell the difference without actually seeing the fly?" Sasuke asked.

"Because human bot flies lay their eggs on house flies and mosquitoes—insects likely to land on a human—and the heat from our skin causes them to hatch and burrow in. Sheep bot flies place their eggs directly in the nasal cavity of the host. You can pick them out by looking for swollen noses, discharge if the lesion is infected, little details like that."

"Those fucking things grow inside people?" Naruto asked incredulously. "Fuck me, this place is Shino's idea of a wet dream," the blonde muttered before turning to Sakura. "And you call me gross? How the fuck am I going to sleep with that ungodly knowledge infesting my brain?"

"It's not my fault you can't be bothered to open a fucking book," the kunoichi snapped back.

"That'll be enough, thank you," Kakashi interrupted, filing away the information Sakura had supplied him with for later. "Let's head back with what we have, Sasuke wasn't able to find much, but we'll have to make it work," the Jounin said with a nod to the pitiful bagful of produce that Sasuke had managed to scrounge from the market.

Team 7 began their trek back to Tazuna's, each member lost in their thoughts on the bizarre occurrence they had all just witnessed. Wave was quickly snowballing into quite the insurmountable task and the three Genin were indeed curious as to what their Jounin sensei would propose for their next move. Eventually, however, the group found its way back to the market square, absorbing into another crowd that had begun to gather.

The mood changed instantly, the people gathered weren't curious, they were buzzing with fear. Armed ronin were pouring into the square, taking up various positions around the crowd and scattered throughout the Market proper, each one resting a threatening hand on their sword.

Many of those located on the outskirts of the crowd began to hurriedly make their way home while the ones staying turned their eyes towards a man who was stepping up towards the raised platform were Team 7 had left the bodies of their victims to serve as warning. The man wore a baggy, pocket-lined coat along with a purple beanie atop his head.

"Afternoon, citizens," he laughed, causing the lines tattooed under his eyes to crinkle, "my name's Zori!"

Zori motioned behind him and several ronin stepped forward to deposit a trio of bound and beaten villagers on their knees in front of him. The two men seemed barely able to remain conscious, their bruised and bloodied faces resembling eggplants, while the woman of the group was shaking violently as tears streamed down her face.

Zori unsheathed his katana and grabbed the first man by the hair, pulling his head back and exposing his neck. "We're here today to reassure all you fine citizens that Wave is indeed safe, and that your humble police force will soon exterminate this new terrorist threat," he promised, smile never leaving his face, "we've already apprehended a few sympathizers and are working 'round the clock to ensure _every-last-one_ of them are rounded up. To aid us in this search, however," Zori changed track, now pointing at those watching, "you can ensure that you are all back in your homes by sundown in accordance with the new curfew Gatou Corp. is instating. Anyone found wandering about at night will be presumed to be in league with the insurgents," the ronin stated, drawing his katana across the man's throat and kicking his bleeding and spamming body towards the crowd, "and they will be dealt with _accordingly_."

The crowd gasped as they watched the man twitch in the throes of death while his blood stained itself into the ground. Naruto committed the man's face to memory, knowing that his soul would make a wonderful offering to the Night Mother, further fueling the void.

"Are there any questions?" Zori asked the silent crowd expectantly. "No? Then I'm glad we understand each other..." he smiled before motioning to the ronin standing nearest the other bound man. "Next, please..."

* * *

**A/N:** Hope you enjoyed, folks. And, because I know at least one person will try and point it out, yes, I know there is a gap between the assassinations and the trip into town. It was intentional. Simmer down, you'll see. Other than that, go listen to some Wilco, it'll make you a better person. Thanks for reading, see ya next time.


End file.
